Disney Is the Only Major Hollywood Studio Not Backing Apple’s $20 4K Movie Distribution Plan ⇥ macrumors.com

Mitchel Broussard, MacRumors:

Apple yesterday revealed the Apple TV 4K, a new set-top box that will bring all the features of the fourth-generation Apple TV, along with the ability to stream 4K HDR video content. This includes iTunes 4K movies, which the company confirmed will be sold for the same price as HD movies at $20 apiece. Users will even be able to gain access to 4K movies they’ve already purchased in HD at no extra charge.

When it made this announcement, Apple showed off a list of Hollywood studios during the keynote that will support 4K movies on iTunes at this price: 20th Century Fox, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros., and Universal Pictures. In a new report today, The Wall Street Journal noted that the major absence among this list is Disney.

Not having Disney on this list is no small thing; the company’s empire is huge. Aside from films released under the Disney brand, they also own Pixar, LucasFilm, and Marvel. Of the ten highest-grossing films in each of the past four years — including the first eight months of 2017 — Disney made fifteen out of the total forty. By my count, that’s more than any other single studio.

It’s noteworthy, too, because of Apple’s historically-positive relationship with the company. Disney was the first company to have its TV shows and movies distributed via iTunes, Steve Jobs was the company’s largest shareholder, and — even today — Disney CEO Bob Iger sits on Apple’s board.

This wouldn’t have anything to do with that own-brand streaming service Disney is working on, would it?