Disney’s Floating in the Clouds
Media giant Walt Disney Studios has launched a new cloud based digital movie service called Disney Movies Anywhere. It already hosts around 400 Disney Studios, Marvel Studios and Pixar Animation Studios films available through iTunes, and this will continue to grow. This is a second attempt for the company to enter the online streaming and film purchasing industry. Their first attempt called Disney Movies Online shut down in 2012.
Jamie Voris, Chief Technology Officer at Disney said “Disney Movies Anywhere is an adaptable digital ecosystem designed to help consumers consolidate their Disney movie collections and enjoy them for years to come…The beauty of this technology is that it enables us to work with iTunes and future provider partners to ensure movie lovers have streamlined access to all of their favorite Disney titles no matter which device they are on. The intuitive layout of the website and app creates an easy and enjoyable browsing environment for the whole family.”
More than just allowing you to purchase or rent films through the app, Disney has also included a feature to store digital copies of films they had previously bought in hard-copy form. Another great feature is simultaneous streaming on multiple devices.
Disney Movies Anywhere is available in app form on iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, Apple TV as well as directly from their Website. It is not, as of yet, available on other platforms. However, they are currently in talks with providers such as Android about carrying Disney Movies Anywhere. Presently, you need to link Disney Movies Anywhere to your iTunes account and that in turn is linked to your iTunes film library. “We think that it is really important to be able to buy our movies from the places that people already want to buy [them]. That’s why it was so important for us to partner with Apple,” said Voris. “If you want to be integrated with digital retailers, Apple is the big partner to have.”
