Walt Disney Co., the second-largest U.S. media company, has started an online store to sell music and videos for its own, proprietary media players, similar to Apple Inc.'s iPod.
The Mix Central site will offer podcasts, video clips and films from the company's television and movie studios and songs from artists at its music labels, Disney said Wednesday.
Disney is expanding Internet outlets for its programs and movies. The company already sells music, ABC shows and films such as Cars and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest on Apple's iTunes media store.
Films are also available at Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s Web site.
Owners of Disney's Mix Stick and Mix Max players can download songs for 99 cents. Albums start at $9.99 and music videos are $1.99.
The Mix Max player, released eight months ago, uses postage-stamp-sized memory cards with full-length movies preloaded that sell for $19.99. Film download prices aren't set.
The Mix Max was the fourth-best-selling flash memory player in the U.S. during last year' November-December holiday period, Disney said, citing NPD Group Inc.'s retail-tracking service.
Meanwhile, shares of Disney fell Wednesday after executives told investors the company may struggle to generate revenue growth.
Chief Financial Officer Thomas Staggs said Tuesday when Disney released its quarterly earnings that the company faces "tough comparisons" with last year's release of the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie and Cars. The third Pirates movie debuts on May 25.
"People want to see how they get through these difficult compares during the next couple of quarters," said Michael Nathanson, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. "This is one of the critical issues for the stock."
Shares of Disney declined 43 cents to close at $36.12 on the New York Stock Exchange. They have gained 5.4 percent this year.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/custom/tourism/orl-disney1007may10,0,4145166.story?track=rss
The Mix Central site will offer podcasts, video clips and films from the company's television and movie studios and songs from artists at its music labels, Disney said Wednesday.
Disney is expanding Internet outlets for its programs and movies. The company already sells music, ABC shows and films such as Cars and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest on Apple's iTunes media store.
Films are also available at Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s Web site.
Owners of Disney's Mix Stick and Mix Max players can download songs for 99 cents. Albums start at $9.99 and music videos are $1.99.
The Mix Max player, released eight months ago, uses postage-stamp-sized memory cards with full-length movies preloaded that sell for $19.99. Film download prices aren't set.
The Mix Max was the fourth-best-selling flash memory player in the U.S. during last year' November-December holiday period, Disney said, citing NPD Group Inc.'s retail-tracking service.
Meanwhile, shares of Disney fell Wednesday after executives told investors the company may struggle to generate revenue growth.
Chief Financial Officer Thomas Staggs said Tuesday when Disney released its quarterly earnings that the company faces "tough comparisons" with last year's release of the second Pirates of the Caribbean movie and Cars. The third Pirates movie debuts on May 25.
"People want to see how they get through these difficult compares during the next couple of quarters," said Michael Nathanson, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. "This is one of the critical issues for the stock."
Shares of Disney declined 43 cents to close at $36.12 on the New York Stock Exchange. They have gained 5.4 percent this year.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/custom/tourism/orl-disney1007may10,0,4145166.story?track=rss
