Disney looks beyond iTunes

Walt Disney said it has sold 1.5 million downloads via iTunes, but will look to expand beyond iTunes, according to a report in The Hollywood Reporter. Disney executives have admitted they are seeking iTunes competitors, such as Google, to further their distribution abilities. Disney Chief Financial Officer Tom Staggs noted that using iTunes "has not been a giant mover in terms of the bottom line," but that iTunes is "an important catalyst for where the business is going." The company noted that iTunes sales were not reducing the value of the shows' other income streams, including advertising and syndication.

Staggs said that Disney will remain "platform agnostic," as they search for additional potential venues for online video download. Following the lead of the Disney-iTunes partnership, other major television networks have announced deals with content distributors: CBS and Google have partnered up to sell CBS' shows, as well Fox/FX and DirecTv.

Disney's CFO also predicted that Lost and Desperate Housewives, among other network-TV shows the studio produces, would eventually generate $1 billion in operating profit when the shows are sold for syndication, according to Forbes.

by MacNN Staff