Apple and Disney will join the other major studios and companies in the cross-industry UltraViolet consortium, according to one interpretation of hints from a senior executive at 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
Danny Kaye, executive vice president of Global Research & Technology Strategy at Fox, told Pocket-lint that just because there was still a significant studio not participating “doesn’t mean they won’t.” Kaye then added, “From my perspective, when you’re well established you sometimes take a ‘wait and see’.”
Kaye’s comments were more likely to be hopeful than predictive, however, since UltraViolet spokespeople have said similar things many times before. Mark Teitell, general manager and executive director of DECE, often replies that “the door is always open” to any and all companies wishing to license UltraViolet when asked about Disney and Apple.
The cloud-based entertainment service opened its licensing platform to content, technology and distribution partners on July 13. The other major studios have been members of the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem parent body from its earliest days. DECE now has dozens of entertainment, consumer electronics, retailers and other members on its rolls, but not the corporate cousins Apple and Disney.
Industry observers note that Apple may have plans to build a similar entertainment service on its iCloud product. Additionally, Disney may still be working on its similar Keychest cloud service, even though it hasn’t been mentioned in months.
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