Fandango’s FandangoNow video-on-demand service is the fifth online retailer to throw in with Movies Anywhere, the digital movie-collection service owned by Disney.
Under the deal, FandangoNow customers can use the Movies Anywhere app and website to access eligible purchases of movies from Walt Disney Studios — encompassing Disney, Pixar, Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm — 20th Century Fox Film, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Pictures (including DreamWorks and Illumination Entertainment) and Warner Bros.
Fandango joins the four other existing Movies Anywhere digital retailers: Apple’s iTunes, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, and Walmart’s Vudu.
Movies Anywhere is a Disney-owned entity, but — according to Disney — operates independently with input from an advisory committee comprising members from each of the participating studios. Disney in 2014 launched a predecessor service, Disney Movies Anywhere, which served as a digital locker for Disney, Pixar, and Marvel movies. Last October, the company launched Movies Anywhere in partnership with the four other studios.
Paramount Pictures and Lionsgate are the biggest studios absent from Movies Anywhere. Last month, Disney shut down the Disney Movies Anywhere apps, allowing users to migrate their titles to the multi-studio-backed version.
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Currently, Movies Anywhere provides access to a library of nearly 7,500 digital movies. In addition to titles purchased from the five retailers, consumers also can redeem digital codes included in Blu-ray and DVD disc packages from participating studios and access them through Movies Anywhere. (Movies rented from digital retailers cannot be accessed from Movies Anywhere.)
“Star Wars: The Last Jedi” is the latest title to become available on Movies Anywhere, with its digital release Tuesday. With the addition of the Disney/Lucasfilm blockbuster, Movies Anywhere has added new profile-picture options for consumers who purchase “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”: the Rebel Alliance Starbird, a Stormtrooper or the First Order emblem.
Fandango remains a member of the UltraViolet network — a similar digital-entertainment locker service backed by several studios and online retailers, but which never secured the participation of big players including Disney, Apple, Google, and Amazon.
To date, consumers have used Movies Anywhere apps to store over 100 million movies, according to Karin Gilford, GM of Movies Anywhere. “We are thrilled to welcome FandangoNow, a go-to online destination for movie fans, as our newest digital retailer,” Gilford said.
With Fandango’s joining Movies Anywhere, “FandangoNow customers will gain simple, streamlined access to their digital movies from Hollywood’s major film studios,” said Fandango chief marketing officer Adam Rockmore.
After linking their FandangoNow account with Movies Anywhere, users can watch their redeemed and purchased digital movies from any participating digital retailer on platforms including Amazon Fire devices; Android devices and Android TV; Google’s Chromecast; Apple’s iPhone, iPad and iPod touch; Roku devices; and web browsers.
NBCUniversal-owned Fandango announced the deal to acquire M-Go from Technicolor and DreamWorks Animation in January 2016, and rebranded the service FandangoNow. It offers 70,000 new release and catalog movies and TV shows, including a library of 4K and HDR titles, to buy or rent.
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