Disney CEO Bob Iger and the leaders of all its divisions are taking the stage at an Investor Conference today in Anaheim California. Iger kicked off the day with the key themes that are dominating the day's presentations: the value of brands and franchises, embracing technology, and growing in the US and abroad.
Digital distribution is very much in the spotlight; today the company announced a new destination for Disney's digital content, called "Disney Studio All Access." This system, presumably a web application, will give consumers access to their Disney movie libraries through Disney.com and across multiple devices, including smartphones and tablets. The service will launch in the second half of the year.
"All Access" is a big deal for Disney's future and the whole digital entertainment landscape. RBC Capital Markets Analyst David Bank this shows that Disney's moving towards "direct control" of the customer, far more than any of its competitors. What does that mean? Disney can sell directly to consumers with its own one-on-one relationship, without needing to go through a third party retailer, which will get a cut. Disney will continue to distribute through Apple and Video-on-Demand. But with this new system aims to encourage people to buy digital copies of movies because they'll be able to access them everywhere, instead of renting movies which brings lower margins.
