iTunes to Offer Disney Movies

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Apple Computer Inc. said Tuesday that it will begin selling full-length Disney films on the company’s iTunes store – that can be viewed on a brand new iPod.

Apple’s Chief Executive Steve Jobs started with the iTunes announcement at a meeting in San Francisco, saying that Apple will be adding downloadable Disney movies to its existing music and television offerings. Newer movies will be $14.99 while older ones will be $9.99.


Jobs also gave out details about the newest crop of iPods, one, the new iPod Shuffle, is about the size of a matchbook. The other traditional players were equipped with larger screens, up to 80 gigabytes of storage and a price tag of up to $350. This is the first change to the iPod in close to a year.


The new iPods will be geared more toward viewing movies and will make the Cupertino-based company’s grip on the portable media market even tighter, analysts predict.


In a rare departure from tradition, Apple was not the first to jump into the downloadable movie market. Earlier this year, AOL and Amazon.com Inc. began offering movies online with a very mild reception, according to analysts.


Microsoft Corp. is also planning to release a competitor to the iPod later this year, placing some of the biggest media companies in the world in this emerging market.


Shares of Apple were up more than 50 cents to $73.07 in early trading Tuesday and shares in Burbank-based Walt Disney Co. were also up 25 cents to $30.02.

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