Even Apple and Google can get along in the Magic Kingdom.
The tech giants have agreed to let people who purchase a Disney movie in their stores to watch it on devices in the competing ecosystem starting Tuesday.
The deal makes good on new app Disney Movies Anywhere s promise to let people access their favorite flicks wherever they are. Disney touted the feat on the app s website, proudly declaring that the service is now available on Google Play AND iTunes. As the Wall Street Journal pointed out, that means someone who buys a movie in the Google Play store on, say, an Android tablet can later find the film in their iTunes library and play it on their Apple TV.
The new policy is meant to allay users fears that they will lose their digital libraries if they switch devices, Jamie Voris, chief technology officer at Walt Disney Studios, told the Wall Street Journal.
This is about getting people comfortable with building their digital movies collection, she said. Disney is going to protect them and make sure they can watch their movies wherever they want to.
Apple s ecosystem is still very much a walled garden. But if any firm could persuade the Cupertino-based company to let in rival Google, it would be Disney. Apple founder Steve Jobs oversaw Pixar Animation Studies during its 2006 acquisition by Disney. The companies remain closely linked, with Jobs widow, Laurene Powell Jobs, controlling a trust that is Disney s largest shareholder and Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger sitting on Apple s board. And besides, who could say no to the likes of Mickey and Minnie?
Above: Walt Disney s company has brought Apple and Google together in a rare deal (Getty Images).
