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Verizon and Disney think 5G can 'transform' entertainment
Verizon has announced at CES 2019 that it's teaming up with Walt Disney Studios to bring emerging technologies, namely 5G, to media and entertainment. The partnership is designed to deliver the network's 5G connectivity to every facet of the studio's work, from production to personal consumer experiences. According to Variety, the deal between the two companies will give Disney's StudioLab the ability to tap into Verizon's next-gen wireless broadband, which offers data transferring speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second.
It took ESPN+ just over five months to hit one million subscribers
ESPN+, a streaming service for the dedicated sports fan, launched back in April. Today, the Walt Disney Company, ESPN's owner, announced that the service has one million paid subscribers. That's quite the accomplishment in just five months.
Disney rendered its new animated film on a 55,000-core supercomputer
Disney's upcoming animated film Big Hero 6, about a boy and his soft robot (and a gang of super-powered friends), is perhaps the largest big-budget mash-up you'll ever see. Every aspect of the film's production represents a virtual collision of worlds. The story, something co-director Don Hall calls "one of the more obscure titles in the Marvel universe," has been completely re-imagined for parent company Disney. Then, there's the city of San Fransokyo it's set in -- an obvious marriage of two of the most tech-centric cities in the world. And, of course, there's the real-world technology that not only takes center stage as the basis for characters in the film, but also powered the onscreen visuals. It's undoubtedly a herculean effort from Walt Disney Animation Studios, and one that's likely to go unnoticed by audiences.
Hulu off the market: Fox, Disney and NBC to maintain ownership
Well, we've been waiting to hear who would wind up purchasing the struggling Hulu, and now we know -- nobody! Instead the service will see an infusion of cash totaling $750 million from its current owners. Hulu has actively courted new owners on multiple occasions, and it seemed as if this time a deal was imminent. Both Yahoo and DirecTV were in the running allegedly but, for whatever reason, Fox, NBC and Disney found their offers lacking. It's unclear right now whether the issue was over asking price or future plans for the service, but the cabal behind Hulu will instead sink more money into the property to try and grow its subscriber base further. This is turning into something of a habit for the uneasy partnership, one that is quickly turning Hulu into the boy who cried wolf. The official press release awaits, after the break.
LG's Smart TV platform starts renting out Disney 3D movies, offers new buyers $50 worth
Although these have been accomplished by two different branch entities, there's no doubt the folks over at Disney are in a deal-making mood as of late. Having recently announced a deal bringing new content to Cablevision subscribers, Disney has also partnered up with LG to bring an array of 3D films over to its Smart TV platform -- so long as the units are 3D-ready and you are in the US, of course. This means movies from studios such as Disney Pixar, Walt Disney Pictures, Marvel and Touchstone Pictures will available to rent in three-dee directly from LG's 3D World, including The Avengers, Toy Story, Alice in Wonderland and, later next year, Finding Nemo. Better yet, LG's currently offering a deal which hands you $50 in credit (which expires December 31st) to spend on 3D rentals -- naturally, however, you'll have to shell out some cash on one of its qualifying TVs in order to take advantage of this promo. To learn more about that, check out the press release after the break.
Comcast, Disney TV deal opens up access on multiple screens, tightens VOD strings
A renewal of the carriage agreement between Disney and Comcast has extended the cable company's "TV Everywhere" model, allowing it to offer customers access to "70 services" including all the ABC, Disney and ESPN channels you can name on their TVs, computers and mobile devices. Comcast's blog post notes this access extends both in and outside of the home, a major sticking point for most of the live TV streaming apps offered by cable and satellite companies (with the obvious exception of Dish Network and its Sling integration) so far. Other news mentioned in the press release (included after the break) is that the ABC video on-demand access on Comcast's cable boxes is fast-forward disabled -- no ad skipping. Other than the existing WatchESPN which Comcast customers will now have access to, there are also WatchDisneyChannel, WatchDisneyXD and WatchDisneyJunior services on the way, a part of disney's own multiscreen initiative called TV+. One other note is that for the first time the deal covers retransmission fees for ABC-owned local stations, which used to be free. There's no word on exactly how much money is changing hands as a result, but we'll probably be able to look at our cable bills in the future and see the effect -- hopefully being able to pull in the latest Grey's Anatomy episodes on the go is worth it.
Run your own Software Update Server with Reposado
Apple systems administrators can now use non-Apple hardware to host an internal Apple Software Update Service, thanks to Reposado, an open-source project developed by IT admins at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Running your own Software Update Server allows you to test updates for hardware and software conflicts before deploying them across all your machines. It also allows you to economize on bandwidth, downloading each update just once instead of having everyone in the company download it separately. Until now, you've needed to run such a server exclusively on Apple hardware running Mac OS X Server. Now, Disney Animation Studios' Reposado lets you run your Update Server on any hardware and software server you like. Reposado downloads Apple's Software Update catalogs and even the update packages from Apple's servers. Written in Python, the software hosts the updates using the 'curl' binary tool and a web server like Apache 2. You can setup custom branches to organize updates and keep track of those that passed testing. If you work in a mixed environment with some machines running 10.6.7 and others on an older version of OS x, you can also use Reposado to serve different updates to different machines. [via Managing OS X]
Hulu Plus subscription service rumored: $9.95 a month for access to older shows
We had a sinking feeling from day one that this so-called "evil plot to destroy the world" was really just an evil plot to eventually invade our wallets, and unfortunately for the freeloaders in attendance, it's looking all the more likely that at least some portion of Hulu won't be free for much longer. We heard back in January that bigwigs surrounding the streaming service were tossing around various pay-for-access schemes, and now the LA Times has it that a bona fide subscription service could go into effect as early as May 24th. Under the terms, which were disclosed by those oh-so-knowledgeable "people familiar with the matter," viewers would be asked to pay $9.95 per month for access to episodes that weren't brand new. We're told that Hulu would continue to provide the five most recent episodes of hit shows for free, but a Hulu Plus pass would be required to view shows older than that. Not surprisingly, Hulu failed to comment on the allegations, but it's safe to say we'll know exactly how legitimate the claims are in just over a month.
Confused pig face mobile phone has paw print buttons, Winnie the Pooh sticker
Oh China, how we love the gadgets you produce. Particularly those of the homegrown variety. We can't say we spotted this pig face mobile during our recent jaunt through the gadget sectors of Hong Kong, but boy, do we wish we had. In one of the most extreme cases of product confusion ever, it looks as if we've got a clamshell phone with the face of a pig, a 0.3 megapixel camera, light-up eyes, a smattering of misplaced Walt Disney logos, paw print send / end buttons and rear speakers, and a random Winnie the Pooh sticker on the rear -- you know, to really cap things off. We're guessing this is some failed attempt to generate yet another KIRF Disney phone, but seriously, a glowing pig? Hello Kitty is not pleased. [Thanks, Chris]
Sony signs up all six major studios for HD movies on PlayStation Network
Well, it looks like Sony has a little treat for PS3 users now that they're able to turn their consoles back on -- it's just announced that it has signed up all six major studios to deliver HD movies on the PlayStation Network (the first company to do so, as Sony is happy to point out). That includes 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. and, of course, Sony Pictures Entertainment, which combined have an initial slate of 19 HD movies available to buy or rent -- including "Fantastic Mr. Fox," "Star Trek," "District 9," "Inglourious Basterds," and "The Wizard of Oz," to name a few. Those are only available in the US at the moment, but Sony says it plans to also roll them out to the U.K., France, Germany, and Spain "soon."
ESPN streaming coming to Xbox 360?
As if you needed another impetus to abandon cable and satellite TV, The New York Times is reporting behind closed door dealings are afoot between Microsoft and Walt Disney Company, with order of business being ESPN streaming via Xbox 360. According to the anonymous source, live streams of sporting events à la the now aptly-titled ESPN360 could come to the console on a per-subscriber fee, along with related interactive games. The thing with secret meetings, of course, is that they can never be confirmed and, should talks fall through, amount to nothing in the future -- just keep that in mind before you get too excited and cancel Comcast a bit prematurely.
Disney and CBS interested in Apple's subscription-based iTunes TV idea?
Disney and Apple -- now, where have we heard about these two mingling in content related activities before? Sure enough, whispers of a potential tie-up regarding a $30 per month TV service for iTunes are turning into more of a gentle roar, with The Wall Street Journal reporting today that both CBS and Walt Disney Company are "considering participating in Apple's plan to offer television subscriptions over the internet." Naturally, this comes from those ever present (and perpetually undisclosed) "sources," but considering that the outfit just shelled out for Lala, we wouldn't put anything past it. As the story goes, CBS is considering offering up content from CBS and CW, while Disney could include programming from ABC, Disney Channel and ABC Family networks; details on the purported program are obviously still under wraps, but we know that both of these guys would be looking for some sort of monthly compensation in exchange for access to their lineups. Whatever the case, it's being bruited that Apple could complete licensing deals and introduce the service sometime in 2010, so we'll be keeping an ear to the ground for more.
Wild speculation: Disney to buy EA in 2009
Electronic Arts' dwindling stock could soon be trading in Disney Dollars. Just as the Wall Street Journal advised back in November, a new Variety report suggests that Disney may be interested in purchasing EA in 2009 in order to "jumpstart itself to a lead position" in the video game market. It's a small world after all.While like EA, Disney stock has recently taken a trip south, the report speculates that such a move would help spur revenue growth at the animation giant in the face of waning DVD purchases and slow-to-start Blu-ray and digital download sales. Of course, the cash flow from EA-themed stuffed animals, snowglobes and keychains hocked at the Disney Store couldn't hurt either.
WSJ to Disney: Buy EA
We're accustomed to seeing Electronic Arts purchase studios at the drop of a money hat, but not so much the other way around. Don't tell that to the Wall Street Journal, however, as the financial site suggests that Walt Disney (the company, not the frozen corpse) should add EA to its animated empire. With EA shares dipping more than 17 percent last week -- not to mention the sluggish economy overall -- the WSJ claims that "Disney would be gutsy to step up during the current economic uncertainty," adding however that "it might be better than waiting for better times and paying top dollar." Of course, EA has yet to give any indication that it plans to step up on the auction block any time soon, though we can't help but wonder how it would feel about another media giant trying to step in and do it a favor. [Via Edge Online]
TiVo to offer up on-demand movie rentals from Disney
TiVo's been offering up movie rentals for a solid tick now, but it finally landed an agreement to include flicks from Walt Disney Studios. Coming soon to Series2 and Series3 HD DVRs, users will be able to view a variety of SD rentals (with select films available in HD) for 24-hour blocks of time. The partnership encompasses TiVo, CinemaNow and ABC, but strangely enough, that's about all the details that any of those firms are dishing out right now.[Via CNET]
Mickey's back: Disney to launch mobile services, handsets in Japan
You know what they say: nothing gets you over the last one like the next one. Apparently, Disney is totally signed on to the aforementioned mantra, as just under seven weeks after Disney Mobile hung its US-based ears in shame, the Japanese unit of Walt Disney Company will reportedly be firing up similar operations in its neck of the woods. Apparently, the outfit has "reached a basic agreement" with Softbank Mobile to lease telecom networks and start providing nationwide service to those interested. Furthermore, it will be buddying up with Softbank to "develop handsets and consign its output to other companies," and if all goes to plan, Disney hopes to sign up "more than one million subscribers." Oh, and if that wasn't enough to make you scrounge up that decade-old Mickey Mouse figurine and give it a long overdue hug, users of the service will also have exclusive access to "animated film downloads." Regrettably, there's no word on an actual launch date just yet, but we'll be keeping a (grossly oversized) set of ears to the ground.[Via Yahoo / Reuters]
Disney-themed USB keys lock kids into childish environments
While we've seen USB-based peripherals that aim to keep your youngsters in a safe and innocent PC environment, Bandai and Buffalo have teamed up to make kid-friendly computing a bit more bearable. The duo has crafted a unique USB key, which is slated to be available in Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh versions, that simultaneously locks the PC into "Kid Mode," password protects the parent's session in the background, and opens up a world of mom-approved fun for the little ones to enjoy. The software that resides on the key includes a dedicated browser for safe surfing, a time regulator to keep them from growing addicted, and options for parents to select precisely what apps their offspring can / can't access. Reportedly, the units are expected to land in mid-September over in Japan, and while pricing has yet to be confirmed, we're hearing it'll run you around ¥3,480 ($30).
Ratatouille joins Cars for November 6th Blu-ray release
Those already saving up their $34.99 for Disney's Cars may now be inclined to pinch those pennies a bit harder, as it looks like Ratatouille will be landing on store shelves the very same day. Sure, this seems like a shameless attempt to get early-bird holiday shoppers (and grown-ups with youngsters in tow) to pick up twice the amount of Blu-ray films they were initially planning to come November 6th, but we won't be surprised if the scheme works out quite well. No word just yet on what kinds of rat-infested extras we'll see on the BD release, but we're keepin' our ears, er, nose to the ground.
Disney shows off Cars' interactive features in trailer
Those patiently awaiting November 6th can now tide themselves over a bit, as Disney has released a trailer that actually shows off some of the much-anticipated bonus features that will reside on the Cars Blu-ray disc. The well-detailed "Car Finder" game (pictured above) purportedly enables viewers to "search for over 200 models of cars hidden throughout the movie and even race the clock to find a specific car in a frozen frame of film." Also shown is the "Cine-Explore" mode, where you'll be treated to a making-the-movie walkthrough with John Lasseter. Go on, hit the read link to give it a look yourself.[Via HighDefDigest]
Disney reveals four blockbusters coming to Blu-ray in 2008
While it was only a matter of time before Walt Disney brought one of its famed animated classics to BD, today the company has finally revealed what that first title will be: Sleeping Beauty. The disc will include a "virtual castle and multi-player activities," both of which utilize BD-Live technology, and if that wasn't enough, the studio also announced that it would be bringing Finding Nemo and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe to Blu-ray next year. Finally, National Treasure will be the outfit's "first BD-Live" title to hit the market when it lands next summer, sandwiched between Narnia in the spring and Finding Nemo / Sleeping Beauty in the fall.[Via MovieWeb]