'Disney Movies Anywhere' gets Android app, ushers in cross-platform movie purchasing

Disney on Tuesday rolled out an Android app for its "Disney Movies Anywhere" cloud service — already available for iOS — in a rare deal that finds Apple and Google sharing digital content rights for movie purchases.

Disney Movies Anywhere first debuted for iOS in February as an all-inclusive service providing a store integrated with iTunes, video viewer and content manager wrapped up in a single app. On Tuesday, Disney extended the service to Google's Android operating system, allowing it to coexist on the world's two dominant mobile platforms.

As part of the deal, both Apple and Google will purchase Disney content wholesale and resell it in their respective iTunes and Google Play media stores, reports The Wall Street Journal. Through the cloud, Disney's app bridges across the iOS and Android platforms, meaning registered users can buy a film on an iPad and view it on a Google Nexus device, for example. On the same token, users can purchase movies on an Android device and access it via iPad or iPhone.

"This is about getting people comfortable with building their digital movies collection," said Jamie Voris, CTO at Walt Disney Studios. "Disney is going to protect them and make sure they can watch their movies wherever they want to."

With the app, Disney is the first Hollywood studio to offer its wares on a truly cross-platform system. The achievement is notable considering Ultraviolet, a digital movie format backed by a coalition of major film studios, has been unable to curry favor with either Apple or Google.

With support for both iTunes and Google Play, Disney Movies Anywhere content is now available on digital storefronts that, combined, generate more than two-thirds of online movie sales, the WSJ notes. As it stands, iTunes commands 61 percent of online movie sales, according to research firm IHS.