Disney Licenses MS Windows Media DRM 385
securitas writes "CNet/ZDNet reports that Walt Disney has licensed Microsoft's Windows Media DRM technology for use in online movie distribution via the Internet. Reuters reports that Disney plans to sell movies online in late 2004 or early 2005, while AP reports that the multi-year license for Microsoft's digital rights/restrictions management and copy-protection software will let Disney distribute content on mobile phones, PDAs and portable media players (mirror). The companies are expected to officially announce the deal later today (Monday)." Conspiracy theorists, start your engines; kidding aside, this is something to watch, as these are two titans of industry.
wait wait...I must have missed it... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:wait wait...I must have missed it... (Score:5, Funny)
Not Important (Score:5, Insightful)
-Cyc
Re:Not Important (Score:5, Insightful)
Also, let's not forget Touchstone, either. Or their licensing business, which is still doing a stunning trade, judging by the number of Winnie-the-pooh and Tigger products I see.
Turn on PBS instead of the Eisner Channel (Score:2)
Disney will continue to be the pre-eminate supplier of Children's content until some one steps up to fill the gap.
uhhh... What about DreamWorks? What about Paramount's Nickelodeon division? What about PBS affiliates?
Re:Turn on PBS instead of the Eisner Channel (Score:5, Insightful)
I would love to see PBS with the budget that Disney has. :)
Re:Turn on PBS instead of the Eisner Channel (Score:5, Interesting)
the irony here is that it's debatable whether winnie the pooh is really disney's to use and distribute.
some guy called slesinger bought, lock stock and honey pot, all the rights to pooh from a.a. milne back in something like 1930. he licensed those rights to walt disney (the guy, not the company) sometime later for a royalty payment.
now disney co. is apparently being remiss in their royalty payments and has been manufacturing poohware outside of the scope of the licensing agreement for twenty-something years. so slesinger's widow is suing.
and now disney wants to put drm on pooh content to stop people from "stealing their property."
sweet irony.
Re:Turn on PBS instead of the Eisner Channel (Score:3, Informative)
Diznee == old and busted, PIXAR == NEW HOTNESS! (Score:5, Insightful)
Look at their comparative output in the last ten years. PIXAR is the new Disney. (Well, at least in the animated feature arena. To be fair Disney has several other allied businesses that Pixar is not in. Yet.) And Disney, lacking any real vision or innovation, it resorting to anti-consumer DRM lockin. Just the kind of strategy you'd expect from a company that's lost it's edge.
Re:Diznee == distribution, PIXAR == content (Score:5, Insightful)
Pixar is a bunch of very creative folks with a lot of CPU horsepower, but no distribution channels. Disney is a very large, diversified company with a LOT of "pull" (or is it "push"?) with theaters and rental outfits. It doesn't matter how good the movie, if no one can view it.
I can't think of one movie distribution channel in Hollywood who wouldn't give a major portion of their anatomy for the chance to distribute Pixar's stuff (and get a cut of the action, natch).
Pixar will have NO PROBLEM finding someone to distribute their stuff.
Re:Not Important (Score:5, Interesting)
The magic is *gone*.
Re:Not Important (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Not Important (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Not Important (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Not Important (Score:5, Informative)
The point is, back in 1984, when Disney almost ceased being Disney, they had theme parks and the merchandising, and that would have done was provide the corporate raiders with more pieces to break off after buying the company. Unless Disney can continue producing more properties for its library and for the distribution channels that it paid so much money for (cable and ABC) its future growth is in question. Look at MGM as an example of where Disney does not want to end up - anemic, and perpetually on the auction block.
Re:Not Important (Score:3, Insightful)
Free Movies for Everyone (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Free Movies for Everyone (Score:5, Funny)
I sense nobody is jumping for joy.
Re:Free Movies for Everyone (Score:3, Funny)
How long till we have a Linux Player. Reminds me of that "other" copy protection: "We spent $10M and it can be defeated using the shift key"
Great News! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Great News! (Score:5, Insightful)
Does anyone around here have an interest in watching a movie on a 1.5" (4 cm) lcd? I guess some people may like it, but for some reason I have a hard time believing people are going to shell out their hard-earned cash for a movie that will only play on their cell phone.
PDA's and other devices (Score:4, Interesting)
Also dont forget homebuilt 'tivo' like devices. Most of them wont be compatible either.
Or laptops running something other then the latest ( not even old will work i bet ) versions of windows.
I dont belive that 'pda content' is the end all goal.. not for a moment.
Not feature films (Score:5, Interesting)
Does anyone around here have an interest in watching a movie on a 1.5" (4 cm) lcd?
I don't see Eisner pushing full-length feature films in this medium as much as 11-minute-or-shorter episodes of "Recess", "Pepper Ann", "House of Mouse" or any of the other ABC crap that Disney has tried to push on K-12 kids.
Re:Great News! (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Great News! (Score:5, Funny)
- If you have two phones, you get stereo sound!
- Also, if you hold the phones really close to your eyes, it'll be like going to the cinema!
Re:Great News! (Score:3, Insightful)
Perhaps not, but what about background images and ringtones? There are plenty of identifiable Disney IP that's already availble in those categories (albeit illegally). But there are also newer game machine/phone hybrids for the 12-20 set (as evidenced by the new model from Nokia). I'm sure those are not the last instance of such integrated functionality we'll see.
Re:Great News! (Score:3, Insightful)
Just wait (Score:5, Funny)
How long would the MSFT deal last then?
Re:Just wait (Score:3, Insightful)
New Pixar movies only play on macs.
hmmm...I dunno if I like this
Re:Just wait (Score:5, Funny)
-Erwos
Re:Just wait (Score:2)
Formats and compatibility (Score:4, Interesting)
Wait.. do I REALLY need Mickey Mouse (C) on my cell phone?
::runs for the hills::
Disney movies on MS? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Disney movies on MS? (Score:5, Funny)
So, this is the other show dropping..... (Score:5, Insightful)
Vain egos often make bad business decisions. Pixar does not need Disney any longer, and most of Disney's recent ventures have been pale imitations of Pixar's work.
Re:So, this is the other show dropping..... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:So, this is the other show dropping..... (Score:4, Insightful)
I wonder if it might have been the other way round -- Jobs dropping Disney because they were insisting on using MS's proprietary DRM.
Re:So, this is the other show dropping..... (Score:4, Interesting)
Titans yes, monopolies no. (Score:5, Insightful)
Remember that before you suggest that either is a monopoly. Look at things in your life and find out where the real monopolies are.
Can you bow out of Social Security? Are you forced to eat at McDonalds? Do you have to pay into federal unemployment insurance? Did you pick your car insurance company, or was it "granted to you" by the voting majority?
Re:Titans yes, monopolies no. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Titans yes, monopolies no. (Score:5, Informative)
If you think that Microsoft, Disney, or most other large corporations have not violated the sherman [stolaf.edu] Antitrust Act of 1890, you should probably read it. The word 'monopoly' has been bandied around specifically to confuse the issue. Section 2:
"Attempt to monopolize" etc. Section 1 discusses restraint of trade - which this could most certainly be percieved as a step towards, dependin g on how Microsoft and Disney deal with the DRM issues - and with their track record, it's not looking good.
Creating a barrier to entry is what the industry is trying to accomplish with mandatory DRM. If you have to pay a $50 license for DRM, and it's illegal to distribute something (software, os, hardware, or all three) without it, then the Free Software world - and, perhaps, open source - is essentially relegated to irrelevance here in the US. And in any country that would hope to do business with US and the IMF/Wold Bank. Bleah.
Re:Titans yes, monopolies no. (Score:5, Insightful)
Exactly how is Disney a monopoly?
Re:Titans yes, monopolies no. (Score:3, Insightful)
If you don't think that this is the first step in trying to establish Microsoft's DRM as the de-facto standard prior to governmental requirement of DR
Re:Titans yes, monopolies no. (Score:3, Insightful)
But wouldn't a company have to have significant, if not near dominant, market share to be considered restraining trade in this case? Disney is a corporate titan but has nowhere near the market share necessary to restrict consumer choice with a distribution technology.
"... this is the first step in trying to establish Microsoft's DRM as the de-facto standard prior to governm
Re:Titans yes, monopolies no. (Score:3, Insightful)
Yeah. It could literally make free softwar
Monopolies, yes (Score:2, Insightful)
One of the classic anti trust cases involved a railroad bridge across the Mississippi River. There was no other suitable location for a bridge crossing within hundreds of miles. The railroad was convicted of being a monopoly, because there was no practical alternative.
You are the kind of quibbler who would say
Re:Titans yes, monopolies no. (Score:2, Insightful)
You say that no-one is forcing you to buy microsoft's DRM technology, nor presumably their browser technology, or media technology, or office technology.
To a certain extent you are quite correct, However because of their monopoly position in one market (achieved through technical excellence, being good at business, or sheer luck, it doesn't matter), they are able to leverage th
What a moron (Score:3, Insightful)
If the evil government said everybody *must* purchase Microsoft, then Microsoft would still be the monopoly, not the government. The government would be a bad government.
PS: Microsoft certainly is a monopoly. It is physically impossible to do many thing
D(isney) R(ules) M(onsters) (Score:5, Funny)
Re:D(isney) R(ules) M(onsters) (Score:2, Funny)
and this will help disney? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:and this will help disney? (Score:5, Interesting)
-lw
More Disney/Pixar after Cars? (Score:2, Informative)
Pixar still has three movies it owes Disney.
Two now that Finding Nemo is done[1]. Or does the contract specify that Pixar owes Disney something beyond The Incredibles and Cars?
How long do you think it would take Disney to setup a Pixar knock-off?
Knockoff? Not long at all. Division whose movies survive for a strong second weekend? Not while Eisner remains in power.
[1] "Done" as in "dinner's ready" [losingnemo.com].
Re:and this will help disney? (Score:5, Informative)
I don't think the question is setting up a Pixar knock off. If Disney wanted a fully 3d animation studio I'm sure Eisner could put it on his personal platinum card and have it bought this afternoon. So let's say they do that, what then? The problem is that Disney almost never produces any original ideas. Most of their work has been adaptation of existing stories. Outside of their distribution agreements with Ghibli and Pixar(oops), There aren't manny original stories that they can claim. Oh, and before you tell me that the Lion King or Disney's take on Atlantis were original, you had better check here [indiana.edu] and here [animenewsnetwork.com].
Re:and this will help disney? (Score:3, Informative)
Like PDI/Dreamworks? A looong time.
Creating a reasonable facimile of the technology to generate these kinds of pictures? Probably not too long?
Assebmling an organization with the talent needed to produce films on par with Monsters, Nemo, Shrek, Ice Age, etc? That's a different question. That seems to be the area where they can't deliver anymore, innit?
Once upon a time, they had ppl that could develop stories and characters that
To be honest, you don't matter (Score:5, Interesting)
To be quite honest, you don't matter to Disney (unless you are a parent). They market their tripe to the mass-market of parents. Good, wholesome family values. They get parents to buy every friggin thing they put out with this method. Who wants to hear a kid screaming over and over that they want to watch The Lion King 1 1/2? Just buy the DVD so the kid will shut up for a couple of hours. Go into a mall, and look at who is actually buying things in the Disney store. Go to that train-wreck Disney themed indoor amusement thingy. Go to Disney World. Ugh. They aren't concerned with quality, they are concerned with $$$$$. Microsoft is the way to go for them...
Poor parents... (Score:5, Funny)
Dad: Sorry, my phone won't do that.
Kid: (Whine, Sniffle) But Joey gets to watch them on his dad's phone.
Dad: I know, son, but I don't have the right kind of phone for that.
Wife: Damnit, Bob! I told you not to buy that Linux phone. (Nag, nag, nag) All my friends bought phones that let their kids watch Disney, but you had to go buy another one of your geek toys!
Disney vs. Apple (Score:5, Insightful)
They hate each other.
Jobs is determined to become the next Disney.
And Disney is turning to Microsoft. I almost feel sorry for them, no-one (and I mean no-one) has ever done a deal with Microsoft and not regretted it later.
The deal that worked ... (Score:3, Insightful)
And for you moderators without any clues, here is one
Re:Disney vs. Apple (Score:5, Funny)
-lw
Disney's first MS DRM Movie (Score:4, Funny)
Seems rather early (Score:5, Insightful)
no, will they PAY for the ability (Score:2)
people currently do all the time for free product- (see supernova.org for details)
Re:Seems rather early (Score:2)
Is this why Pixar bolted? (Score:5, Interesting)
Time for an upgrade (Score:5, Funny)
CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW MR. BRUCKHEIMER? BOOOOOOM!
What good is Disney without Pixar? (Score:5, Interesting)
For this deal with MS to be a success, they must have content people are willing to watch. And that is something they're not putting out anymore with Pixar off their team.
They can still be considered a titan, but for how long?
Re:What good is Disney without Pixar? (Score:5, Insightful)
As for the whole DRM bugaboo, I gotta tell you, most people don't care. In fact, most geeks don't care. Should they? Sure, but it's a topic for a different conversation. Disney will be making and distributing -- and MS will be securing -- entertainment for the mass populace. If everybody who sez they'll never buy a DRM'd download REALLY never buys a DRM'd download, it will still be less than a rounding error on the Disney/MS titan's ledger.
No more Clippy! (Score:5, Funny)
Best wishes,
Mike.
Re:No more Clippy! (Score:2)
I think the seven dwarves would be more realistic (Score:2, Funny)
No. (Score:5, Funny)
Just a dig at Pixar? (Score:4, Insightful)
I'm guessing that all this will mean is that Mac users won't be able to watch 'Lion King 7' on their computers when it come out... :p
Without Pixar, Disney could be in real trouble film wise...
DRM will be cracked (Score:4, Interesting)
2 titans... (Score:5, Interesting)
i would rather bet my $$ on the Apple/pixar tandem : 2 stars on the rise
I had a vision last night (Score:5, Insightful)
The mouse was very old; seemed like it had been around forever. Whenever anyone talked about the mouse, it'd better be good or *stomp*! No one was allowed to take a picture of the mouse or fashion its likeness in any way.
All the people around the mouse were tired parents in chains - as long as you put chains on when you were in the presence of the mouse you were safe. As soon as you took the chains off - *stomp*!
I really have to lay off the homemade guacamole.
Who really wants to download movies anyway? (Score:5, Insightful)
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Strategy continuity? (Score:5, Funny)
The Reason Why..... (Score:2)
Not like RIAA (Score:4, Insightful)
Rather than joking about Microsoft security or Disney's financial situation and friendship with certain Senators, why not discuss the possible viability of the online movie market. Will people really download these legally, rather than get DVD rips off Kazaa and BitTorrent links? Or worse, when the DRM technology gets cracked, will the movies spread for free?
Personally I believe that this won't stop online piracy or make up for the lost sales, but the legality and conveniece will make the downloadable movies an attractive alternative. The revenues will never be the same but it'll be better than trying to prevent online distribution at all.
one plus one equals (Score:3, Funny)
disney +
----------------------
mickeysoft
more can be less (Score:3, Insightful)
Walt? (Score:2, Funny)
Wow, so they un-froze his head long enough to sign a license? Cool!
Oh, you mean the Walt Disney Company [hoovers.com]!!!
Crash and burn (Score:3, Insightful)
This could restrict Disneys customer base consid.. (Score:2)
Remember, the current champions of the consumer electronics space( Japan ) are all moving to GNU/Linux for those devices. The PalmOS( PalmOne and Sony ) still outsell MSFT/PocketPC by over 60%(IIRC). Not to mention this is after MSFT losing $$ at it's Mobile Unit for it's
Opensource needs to embrace DRM (Score:5, Interesting)
Content providers want DRM, MS probably doesn't care a bit about DRM but they realized that providers want it before they'll release their product. So they fill the niche because opensource has only been against it instead of offering their alternative. If opensource, etc doesn't want to be completely squeezed out of this market they need to offer an alternative. An alternative that can be used on any platform without cost. Content providers don't want to pay a M$ license, they just want a warm fuzzy. If we can give them a warm fuzzy without cost; it'll still be DRM but it'll be *our* DRM that won't prevent *my* OS from being able to view their content. We need to get an acceptable alternative out there before we non-M$ users completely lose any use (even a crippled DRM use) because we let M$ control the market completely.
Re:Opensource needs to embrace DRM (Score:3, Insightful)
There are a lot of things that big business wants, but that doesn't mean that consumers will go for it. No consumer benefits from DRM, so if it makes their life harder they just won't buy: to work at all it needs to be a non-DRM DRM like Apple's iTunes, where you can still burn DRM-free copies to CDs to listen to.
As for producing our own DRM, why? We don't want it, Joe Sixpack doesn't want it, just let it crash and burn in the marketplace like all those other bad inventions th
Re:Opensource needs to embrace DRM (Score:5, Insightful)
Could be bad (Score:2)
End of the video store? (Score:4, Insightful)
The rumors are true. (Score:4, Insightful)
This is a great step forward in Microsoft's strategic plans forthe future. Facing a growing threat from competing operating systems, and losing market share in international circles, mostly business clients, Microsoft has braced itself for the future, when it will not be the no. 1 OS. Take for example MSNBC, a money losing venture for Microsoft since its launcha few years back. Xbox barely takes in a profit. Yet these two products are examples of how MS is carefully pushing itself into media delivery, a business I believe Gates is targeting in the future. By having even a presence in these industries, even if a small one, companies and shareholders in the future will learn to trust MS in this field.
Some years from now (like 8) when MS does another big buyout or forms a subsidiary in a movie business or production studio or home entertainment encryption, MS may have established itself as a trustworthy name, and the OS part of its company may play a lesser role at that point. Remember that Disney has influcence and presence in many circles of business as well, making this an alliance to watch carefully.
Expiring DVDs (Score:3, Interesting)
And who will really want to stream a movie? Pay, say $5 for something that looks like crap; or maybe they'll let you download DVD quality...who couldn't download 3 - 4 gigs of video, right? Disney really has had some strange ideas lately.
In any event, buying the DVD will probably only be $10 more than paying to download it, so why bother at all?
Great News!!! (Score:5, Insightful)
Remember, these are the guys that have watched DivX and disposable DVDs flop in the market. Maybe third times a charm, but it'll be more fun to watch MS get sucked into Disney's inability to squeeze more money from the pre-school crowd who watch those movies till the VHS tapes are worn thin.
I say, let the games begin.
MS Press Release (Score:4, Informative)
"Industry"? (Score:3, Interesting)
You guys (and gals) must not have kids... (Score:3, Insightful)
Welcome to Finding Nemo! (Score:5, Funny)
NOTE: You must purchase a Disney certified Enjoyment Right (tm) for each person viewing any portion the movie. You must also purchase a right for each piece of equipment involved in the presentation of the movie. This right lasts for the duration of the movie, and then expires. Failure to purchase the correct number of rights is a felony offense. Inclusion of any missing, false or misleading information in the Enjoyment Right (tm) request form is a felony offense. Use of playback or presentation equipment which does not support Enjoyment Rights is a felony offense. Attempting to circumvent any portion of the Enjoyment Right restrictions, as outlined by the FBI, is a felony offense.
Thank you for choosing Disney products. Enjoy the movie!.
As a Comcast customer... (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:In the future... (Score:5, Insightful)
On which you can't play any mainstream movies or music. The media giants are learning. From CDs they learned, don't distribute digital content in the clear. From DVDs they learned, encryption based on trade secrets can and will be reverse engineered. WMA offers the "advantage" that some aspects of it are covered by patents, that any player not properly licensed infringes on the patents, and that MS can easily win the infringement cases against the developers in court. Financially ruin a couple of hackers for life (personal bankruptcy won't get you any relief from that $10M judgement you owe MS -- you're going to be poor FOREVER) and the hackers will quit.
And for better or worse, Joe Sixpack and his family want to consume mainstream content. Joe WANTS to see the local sports teams. His tykes WANT to watch Disney cartoons. And so on. If the Linux-based device won't play WMA, Joe's not going to be interested. And possession of an MPEG version of the video (as an example) will be a trivially easy copyright infringement case to win -- since the only legal copies that are distributed are in WMA...
I used to do technology intelligence work for a large media firm, and predicted this as a likely evolution at least three years ago.