Sony will take over soon-to-be-outsourced Disney Blu-ray, 4k Blu-ray, DVD & physical media business as the company focuses on digital & streaming media.
The big news today in physical media is the decision by Disney to outsource its physical media business to Sony. The deal includes the distribution of new Disney releases as well as catalog titles to be sold in the US and Canada.
The announcement follows Best Buy’s exit from movies on disc at the end of 2023 (part of which has been taken over by Walmart, which now sells more exclusive SteelBooks than did previously), and Netflix’s goodbye to DVDs by mail last fall.
The move was forthcoming. Disney recently started sending out goodbye emails to Disney Movie Club members, noting after 23 years it was “Time To Say Goodbye.” The company said the last day to place orders would be May 20, 2024. But while Disney is unloading its physical media division, the company will still be pushing digital media, premium on-demand, and the streaming service Disney+.
The news that Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will be taking over Disney’s physical media business might actually be good for home theater nerds like us who want the highest quality transfers and restorations of films. 4k Blu-ray, the best quality available in home media these days, is only worth the premium if the source material and encoding is handled correctly.
We’ll have to see if Sony is given free rein to release new and catalog titles as they see fit, or if Disney will apply any type of control over which IPs are accessible. It will also be interesting to see if the distribution agreement ends up more like the joint venture between Warner Bros. Discovery and Universal Pictures’ who launched Studio Distribution Services (SDS) to handle sales and marketing of physical media products.
