Disney to offer free movies online
NEW YORK (Hollywood Reporter) - Disney will stream full-length movies on its Web site for the first time, as part of its "Wonderful World of Disney" series on ABC. The films are scheduled to stream through August.
"Finding Nemo" is available at www.Disney.com/WWoD (www.Disney.com/WWoD) through Friday, after the film's airing Saturday on Disney-owned ABC. "Monsters, Inc.," "Haunted Mansion," "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen," "Princess Diaries 2," "Freaky Friday" and "Peter Pan" also will be available on the site this summer.
A Disney spokesman said the decision to stream movies for free marks an "evolution" in the company's online strategy. Fox, Universal, Lionsgate and MGM have all previously placed titles on Hulu, the NBC Universal/News Corp.-owned site, while Disney has gone the pay route and kept its films, for the most part, on iTunes.
Disney Channel does, though, stream episodes of its series online for free.
The spokesman said that the "advertising strategy has not been finalized" for the films.
The movies will be on Disney.com from Monday through Friday after their ABC broadcast the preceding Saturday night as "Wonderful World of Disney" presentations. "Peter Pan" will be the last movie to stream, ending its run August 8.
Disney.com also will stream the Disney Channel original movie "Camp Rock" on June 23 at www.Disney.com/CampRock for a 24-hour window after its June 20 TV premiere and subsequent airings June 21 on ABC and June 22 on ABC Family.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
