Disney touts cloud-based content distribution tech

The Walt Disney Co. is poised to introduce a new cloud-based technology enabling consumers to pay a single fee for lifetime access to movie and television content across the web, mobile handsets and traditional television. The Wall Street Journal reports Disney is currently demonstrating the solution--codenamed "Keychest"--to other movie studios and technology firms, with plans to formally unveil the effort next month. With Keychest, a consumer who purchases a movie from a participating retailer is given access to that title across multiple viewing platforms--the system generates a unique "key" when content is purchased, then stores that key in a repository. Other distribution services participating in the Disney effort automatically query that repository and identify what movies the consumer has purchased. The content will be hosted by mobile operators, cable providers and Internet service providers, not downloaded to individual devices.

Disney Studios president of home entertainment Bob Chapek tells the WSJ that the company doesn't anticipate Keychest will deliver tangible financial results for five years, but forecasts that in combination with Blu-ray, digital distribution "should bring our category back up to a healthy state where we can expect growth in the future." DVD sales have declined as much as 25 percent at some studios in recent years, while Blu-ray and digital downloads combined currently make up 11 percent of home-video sales, according to industry estimates.

For more on Keychest:
-read this Wall Street Journal article