Disney have reached an agreement with Sony to produce DVD and Blu-ray discs in a new licensing deal which willl see Disney content continue to land on physical media in an age where streaming would seem to be the powerhouse ‘format’.
It’s the latest sign of the decline of the physical disc trade. Netflix last fall unplugged its foundational disc-by-mail service and revenue from disc sales has continued to decline markedly in the streaming era, as indicated this month in a 2023 recap by the Digital Entertainment Group, a trade consortium. The DEG’s preliminary annual report found robust demand for movie titles lifted overall revenue 17%, but disc sales and rentals dropped 25% to just shy of $1.6 billion.
Sources familiar with the agreement, which was first reported by website The Digital Bits, said the new setup will operate on a licensing model. Sony will market, sell and distribute new Disney releases as well as catalog titles on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K Ultra DVD via retailers and distributors in the U.S. and Canada.
It’s an interesting development, which in equal parts shows Disney are keen to remain ‘light on their feet’ as well as keeping their toes in the physical format pool.
