You probably popped some popcorn and saw this one coming: Disney
Disney's Buena Vista Home Entertainment will offer its films through the movie download service CinemaNow, which already has agreements with Sony
Apparently, Disney chose CinemaNow because of its ability to download content onto portable devices, but it's not the only game in town. (The arrangement is also non-exclusive, meaning Disney will be able to distribute through other services as well). Rival Movielink happens to be owned by several of the major movie studios, and recently announced plans to distribute films from General Electric's
News of Disney downloads is hardly a shock, since digital video seems to be on the upswing. The going prices may still be a bit too high for most consumers to get excited about purchasing movies this way, but interest in digital video delivery's instant gratification has been made apparent by Apple's video offerings on iTunes, the success of sites like YouTube, and, of course, Google's foray into video.
Disney's deal with CinemaNow is just another example of the changing face of digital entertainment -- and another sign that despite some of the risks and fears posed by digital piracy, none of the major media companies wants to be left behind as consumers increasingly clamor for entertainment on demand.
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Alyce Lomax does not own shares of any of the companies mentioned.