WALT DISNEY - DISNEY SAYS IT HAS SOLD 1.3 MILLION MOVIES ON ITUNES

The Walt Disney Co., the only major film company that has permitted its movies to be distributed online via Apple's iTunes Music Store, said Thursday that it has sold 1.3 million movie downloads since they became available for downloading last October. Other studios have shunned the Apple store, concerned that major brick-and-mortar retailers, particularly Wal-Mart and Target, which account for 50 percent of DVD sales, would be angered by the lower pricing that Apple insists upon and retaliate. (Apple points out that its online downloads lack many of the "extras" that are included in DVD packages.) In an interview with the London Financial Times, Disney CEO Robert Iger remarked, "Have we had discussions with these retailers? Yes, absolutely. In general, our relationship with these retailers is in good shape." He indicated that store sales have not been affected by online sales. "We are growing market share rather than moving business from one platform to another," he said.


02/02/2007