Hollywood studios join Disney to launch Movies Anywhere digital locker service

For several years now, Disney has been the only Hollywood studio with a digital movie

locker worth using, but a host of other industry heavyweights have now jumped on board to launch an expanded version of the service called Movies Anywhere. It’s both a cloud-based digital locker and a one-stop-shop app: customers connect Movies Anywhere to their iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, or Vudu accounts, and all of the eligible movies they’ve purchased through those retailers appear as part of their Movies Anywhere library. Given that the Movies Anywhere app works across a number of platforms, it basically allows them to take their digital film library with them no matter what device or operating system they’re using. It’s quite similar to the functionality previously offered by Disney Movies Anywhere, which the company originally launched in 2014. That’s because the new service is built upon the same digital rights system architecture, dubbed “Keychest,” that Disney developed for its original service. The big difference here is selection. Warner Bros., Universal, Sony Pictures, and Twentieth Century Fox have all signed on to Movies Anywhere. Along with Disney’s films, that gives the service a launch library of more than 7,300 titles. According to Karin Gilford, general manager for Movies Anywhere, conversations have also been ongoing with studios like Paramount Pictures and Lionsgate, though as of yet they’re not part of the initiative.                                                                                       https://www.theverge.com/2017/10/12/16462824/movies-anywhere-digital-movie-locker-disney-warner-bros-universal-twentieth-century-fox-sony