Walt Disney Studios is planning to launch a new website on June 11 designed to simplify the process of accessing digital versions of movies purchased on Blu-ray Disc or DVD. The Disney Digital Copy Plus website intends to streamline digital delivery for consumers by eliminating the cumbersome “digital copy” process. The site will debut on the same day that the studio’s “Oz the Great and Powerful” is released on disc. Continue reading Disney to Launch New Digital Copy Plus Website Next Week

The number of potential bidders for Hulu grew late last week when it was reported that Time Warner Cable and DirecTV are both interested in the six-year-old online video site. Other firms that have expressed interest in Hulu include Guggenheim Partners, Yahoo and Peter Chernin’s investment group. The video site — jointly owned by Comcast, Disney and News Corp. — has reportedly been considering a range of strategic options, including a sale. Continue reading Pay TV Operators Time Warner Cable and DirecTV Eye Hulu

ABC will upgrade its app for iPhones and iPads this week with a “live” button that will allow viewers in the New York and Philadelphia areas to live-stream local ABC programming. The live stream, which will also be offered via ABC-owned stations in six other cities this summer, will be made available only to cable and satellite subscribers. ABC is in talks with 200 affiliates to offer “live” in their markets as well. Continue reading ABC App to Offer Live Streams of TV Shows for Subscribers

The Entertainment Technology Center presented longtime Warner Bros. exec Chuck Dages with the Bob Lambert Technology Leadership Award during an industry gathering at USC’s Town & Gown Wednesday evening. The event also celebrated the first 20 years of ETC@USC and featured a studio technology leaders panel, during which execs discussed production and distribution challenges emerging from an evolving digital landscape. Continue reading Technology Leadership Award: ETC Honors Chuck Dages

The theme for Disney’s presentation during last week’s Digital Content NewFronts in New York City was “the art of interactive storytelling.” Disney Interactive announced 10 new online original series and the forthcoming “Story” app that helps parents share user-generated stories online. The company also promoted its successful YouTube ventures and a music deal with Vevo. Continue reading Digital NewFronts: Disney Interactive Announces New Series

Hulu announced yesterday that it has doubled its number of paid subscriptions to four million over the last year. The announcement was made Tuesday morning during the Digital Content NewFronts in New York. The company said it set a new revenue record in the first quarter, but did not specify the amount. Hulu also announced its third and most ambitious wave of original programming that will debut exclusively on the video site this year. Continue reading Hulu Doubles Paid Subscribers, Announces Original Shows

As the shift to mobile devices continues, media including e-books, music and video are becoming increasingly popular when distributed through a “less is more” model. Consumers are gravitating to short form content they find more convenient. Amazon has brought back serial novels for its Kindle, Capitol Records Nashville has debuted at number one with its EP releases, and shorter films such as the 42-minute documentary “Inocente” are drawing viewers and winning awards. Continue reading Less is More as Consumers Turn to Short Form Content

A number of interesting camera and related 4K technologies were on display at last week’s NAB show in Las Vegas including Blackmagic’s new $995 Pocket Cinema Camera, the Production Camera 4K from Blackmagic, Phantom’s Flex4K Digital Cinema camera, two new 4K projectors from Christie capable of 60 frames-per-second, and a proof of concept trifocal camera system from Germany’s Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute. Continue reading NAB 2013: Compelling New Camera and Projection Systems

Multiple sources suggest that Peter Chernin, former president and chief operating officer of News Corp., has formally bid around $500 million for Hulu through his Chernin Group holding company, reports Reuters. Chernin helped launch the online video streaming service in 2007, which is currently controlled by Disney and News Corp. (co-owner Comcast relinquished corporate control as a concession when purchasing NBCUniversal). Continue reading Insiders Say Peter Chernin Bidding $500 Million for Hulu

The Walt Disney Company reportedly has an app in the works that will stream ABC programming live to the smartphones and tablets of cable and satellite subscribers. For example, subscribers could watch “Good Morning America” live via phones while in line for their coffee or watch “Nashville” on their tablets will riding a bus home from work. The app could be available as soon as this year. Continue reading Disney Plans App for Live Streaming ABC to Mobile Devices

Digital Cinema Distribution Coalition announced that it has reached agreements with five movie studios to provide digital delivery services to theaters in North America. The DCDC satellite and terrestrial digital distribution network will deliver feature, promotional, pre-show and live digital cinema content from Lionsgate, Universal Pictures, Disney, Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures. Continue reading Five Studios Team with DCDC for Satellite Movie Delivery

As TV audiences increasingly turn to online options for content discovery and consumption, audience-measuring firms such as Nielsen have made necessary adjustments regarding cross-platform analysis. The potential of the new metrics will be tested with Disney’s new Unified initiative in which ABC, ABC Family and ESPN will start using Nielsen’s Online Campaign Ratings to sell their ad inventory. Continue reading ABC Unified: Disney to Use Nielsen Cross-Platform Metrics

Disney’s short film “Paperman” was nominated for an Academy Award (Best Animated Short) last month and was soon after posted on YouTube — an effort to garner attention for the film. The other nominees followed suit, but have since been yanked from the Web because of a letter sent to each of them from the chief executive of Shorts International, who complained that the streaming would cause damage to theatrical releases. Continue reading Oscar-Nominated Short Films Appeared Online, Then Pulled

After two years of research, asking 9- and 10-year-olds what kind of content they want to watch on an iPad, the results are in: they don’t want to watch very much actual TV. So instead of simply making its programming available on the iPad, Nickelodeon designed its new app as a noisy, colorful collection of animated clips, music videos and more, including actual full-length episodes. Continue reading New Nickelodeon App is TV Everywhere Capable and More

Jim Silver, editor in chief of timetoplaymag.com, estimates that more than 90 percent of the “so-called app toys that were trotted out last year sold poorly,” reports the Wall Street Journal. But toy companies are still trying to make it work, begging the question: “why have a hybrid, combining some aspect of a tablet with an actual physical toy or game, when a tablet alone will do?” Continue reading Sales of Physical Toys Impacted by Rise of Tablets and Apps