Movies Anywhere

Movies Anywhere is a United States-exclusive cloud-based digital locker and over-the-top streaming platform operated by The Walt Disney Company.[3] The service allows users to stream and download purchased films, including digital copies redeemed from codes found in home video releases as well as digital purchases from participating services. The platform provides content from Walt Disney Studios, Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros.[4] The system utilizes an internal platform known as KeyChest, which synchronizes content licenses from digital distribution platforms linked to a central user account.

Movies Anywhere, LLC.
Screenshot
A screenshot of the 2019 Movies Anywhere welcome screen.
Type of site
Digital rights locker service
Video on Demand
Available inEnglish
FoundedFebruary 10, 2014 (2014-02-10)
Predecessor(s)Disney Movies Anywhere
Country of originUnited States
Area servedUnited States
OwnerThe Walt Disney Company
General managerKarin Gilford
ParentDisney Media Distribution
URLwww.moviesanywhere.com
RegistrationRequired
Users6 Million
[1][2]

Movies Anywhere was first launched on February 10, 2014 as Disney Movies Anywhere (DMA), with content from Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars-branded films. On October 12, 2017, DMA was relaunched as Movies Anywhere, with other studios joining Disney in offering their film titles through the platform.

The service originally had iOS with iTunes Store integration, and has since been extended to other platforms and storefronts, including Amazon Video, FandangoNOW,[5] Google Play Movies & TV, Microsoft Movies & TV, and Vudu, along with subscribers of Xfinity and Verizon Fios TV services. Some time in 2018, titles on Google Play Movies & TV linked through Movies Anywhere were also made available through the "Purchased Movies" heading on a customer's YouTube account.

Movies Anywhere was a competitor to the UltraViolet platform that was deployed by other major film studios (although the latter is declining as most of those studios move to Movies Anywhere); Disney declined to back the platform, in favor of promoting KeyChest as an alternative. On January 31, 2019, the consortium behind Ultraviolet announced that it would shut down its services on July 31, 2019, although the studios remaining with Ultraviolet (including Paramount Pictures, Lionsgate, and MGM) have yet to move to Movies Anywhere.[6]

History

In 2009, Disney unveiled a rights synchronization platform known as KeyChest, which would allow content purchases via digital distribution platforms to be queried and used to build a centralized library. The company explained that this system would allow "persistent" access to purchased content across multiple digital platforms, including television set-top boxes and mobiles.[7][8][9][10][11] The platform was viewed as being a competitor to UltraViolet, a competing concept developed by DECE, a consortium containing all other major U.S. film studios but Disney.[11][12]

Disney Movies Anywhere originally launched on February 10, 2014, as an iOS app that allows users to link Disney films purchased on iTunes Store into a unified library with digital copies of Disney films purchased on physical media, so that they can be streamed or downloaded. The integration is achieved by linking a user's Apple ID with a Disney account. The app also allows users to browse through a catalog of Disney films available on iTunes Store, access supplemental content such as interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, and participate in the Disney Movie Rewards program.[13] Walt Disney Studios CTO Jamie Voris explained that the app was designed to provide a "rich, interactive experience" around its content as an alternative to "utilitarian" online stores and that Disney planned to seek additional retail partners for the service in the future.[13]

In November 2014, support for Google Play Movies & TV and Vudu was added.[14][15] In September 2015, support for Amazon Video and Microsoft Movies & TV was added, and DMA apps for Android TV and Roku were also released.[16] In August 2016, Verizon Fios became the first television provider to integrate with DMA, allowing purchases through Fios On Demand to be synced into DMA libraries.[17][18] Fios would have later drop their support after the DMA service was discontinued.

In September 2017, DMA ceased support for Microsoft Movies & TV, with future purchases no longer automatically accessible through the linked library.[19] However, in August 2018 support for the service provider was officially restored under Movies Anywhere.

On October 10, 2017, it was reported that the DMA platform would expand to include content from non-Disney studios under the name Movies Anywhere, with 20th Century Fox (which was eventually acquired by Disney in 2019), Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., and DreamWorks Animation serving as initial partners, and Paramount Pictures, Lionsgate, and Metro-Goldwyn Mayer expressing interest.[20] It would also include titles from Disney's Hollywood Pictures and Touchstone Pictures banners that were previously unavailable on DMA. The DMA platform was relaunched on October 12, 2017. The Verge felt that the new platform could be used to replace the commercially unsuccessful UltraViolet platform (which Disney did not support).[12] For physical copies of films printed pre-Movies Anywhere, these studios now route users redeeming codes formerly meant for their redemption portals and Ultraviolet to the redemption section of the Movies Anywhere site.

Just two months after launch, at the January 2018 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, General Manager Karin Gilford announced that consumers’ accounts had accumulated nearly 80 million movies.[21] That same month, Movies Anywhere was picked the 2018 winner of Home Media Magazine's inaugural Media Play News Fast Forward Awards, honoring people, technologies, organizations, products, or services that move the home entertainment industry forward.

Support for FandangoNow was added on March 13, 2018,[22] with talks also resuming between Movies Anywhere and Microsoft Movies & TV.[23] By then, there were more than 100 million movies in consumer accounts.[24]

On August 6, 2018, it was announced that Microsoft Movies & TV would be rejoining the Movies Anywhere service. By then, the number of movies in customer accounts had grown to more than 135 million.[25][26]

On December 5, Comcast's Xfinity became the first cable provider (and the 2nd provider before the DMA rebranding), to partner with Movies Anywhere; subscribers utilize their TV Everywhere login to connect their account to the service. Fios would later rejoined by joining into the Movies Anywhere service on October 8, 2020.[27]

On January 31, 2019, Ultraviolet announced that it would terminate its services on July 31, 2019 owing to increased support for Movies Anywhere.[28][29] While Lionsgate and Paramount dropped out of that service in July and December 2018, they have not made any transition to Movies Anywhere. MGM, the remaining studio that continued to utilize Ultraviolet, also did not transition to Movies Anywhere (although some MGM films like Missing Link and Booksmart also end up in Movies Anywhere, usually through 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment).

On March 17, 2020, Movies Anywhere announced users can now share movies with other Movies Anywhere users. Users can share up to 3 movies per month and the user the movie is shared to has 14 days to watch it, but 72 hours to finish the movie once started.[30]

References
  1. "Privacy Policy - Movies Anywhere". Movies Anywhere.
  2. Spangler, Todd (November 9, 2018). "Movies Anywhere Hits 6 Million Users, Over 150 Million Movies Stored in First Year". Variety. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  3. Prange, Stephanie (October 11, 2017). "Movies Anywhere App Launches With Joint Studio Backing". Variety. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  4. Hayes, Dade; D'Alessandro, Anthony (October 11, 2017). "Four Major Studios Join U.S. Launch Of Disney's Movies Anywhere Digital Service". Deadline. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  5. Spangler, Todd (March 12, 2018). "Fandango Joins Disney-Owned Movies Anywhere". Variety. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
  6. "Ultraviolet shutting down on July 31, 2019". UltraViolet. Archived from the original on January 31, 2019. Retrieved January 31, 2019.
  7. Price, Emily (February 25, 2014). "Disney Movies Anywhere service launches with an unprecedented link to iTunes". Engadget. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  8. Drawbaugh, Ben (January 10, 2010). "Disney's KeyChest is not DRM". Engadget. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  9. Warren, Christina (October 21, 2009). "Disney's Going Digital: Buy Once, Watch Anywhere". Mashable. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  10. Healey, Jon (January 5, 2010). "Disney offers KeyChest, but where is the KeyMaster?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
  11. Smith, Ethan (October 21, 2009). "Disney Touts a Way to Ditch the DVD". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  12. Bishop, Bryan (October 12, 2017). "Hollywood studios join Disney to launch Movies Anywhere digital locker service". The Verge. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  13. Ha, Anthony (February 25, 2014). "Disney Launches Disney Movies Anywhere, An iTunes-Integrated App Where Fans Can Build Their Movie Library". TechCrunch. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  14. Graser, Marc (November 14, 2014). "Walmart's Vudu Joins Disney Movies Anywhere". Variety. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  15. Buhr, Sarah (November 3, 2014). "Disney And Google Partner Up For Disney Movies Anywhere Access On Google Play". TechCrunch. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  16. Welch, Chris (September 8, 2015). "Disney's fantastic cloud movie locker now works with Amazon, Microsoft video apps". The Verge. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  17. Baumgartner, Jeff (August 23, 2016). "Verizon Fios First MVPD to Connect to Disney Movies Anywhere". Multichannel News. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  18. Chen, I-Chun (August 24, 2016). "Verizon Fios joins Disney Movies Anywhere platform". L.A. Biz. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  19. Moon, Mariella (September 8, 2017). "Disney Movies Anywhere drops Microsoft as a partner". Engadget. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  20. Gruenwedel, Erik (October 10, 2017). "Disney Movies Anywhere Adds Fox, WB, Universal (Report)". Variety. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  21. Arnold, Thomas (February 25, 2018). "Betting on Movies Anywhere". Media Play News. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  22. England, Rachel (March 13, 2018). "Movies Anywhere includes your FandangoNOW flicks". Engadget.
  23. Thorp-Lancaster, Dan (March 14, 2018). "Microsoft 'in discussions' about joining Movies Anywhere". Windows Central. Mobile Nations. Retrieved July 19, 2018.
  24. Prange, Stephanie (March 12, 2018). "Movies Anywhere Adds FandangoNow". Media Play News. JCH Media Inc. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  25. Moon, Tim (August 6, 2018). "Microsoft Movies & TV rejoins Movies Anywhere". Neowin.
  26. Latchem, John (August 6, 2018). "Microsoft Joins Movies Anywhere Platform". Media Play News. JCH Media Inc. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
  27. https://www.verizon.com/about/news/movies-anywhere-launches-verizon-fios
  28. Perez, Sarah (January 31, 2019). "Cloud movie locker UltraViolet is finally closing". TechCrunch. AOL. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  29. Latchem, John (January 31, 2019). "Digital Movie Service UltraViolet Shutting Down July 31". Media Play News. Retrieved February 12, 2019.
  30. Gartenberg, Chaim (March 17, 2020). "Movies Anywhere's new Screen Pass feature will let you loan your digital movies to friends". www.theverge.com.
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