Walt Disney President and CEO Robert Iger reported Tuesday that his company has sold 125,000 digital movies since they debuted on the iTunes Store last week, already generating $1 million in revenue. Iger told attendees of an investment conference in New York on Tuesday that Disney anticipates seeing about $50 million in revenue from the venture during its first year.
Apple last week updated iTunes to version 7 and introduced new iPod nanos and updated fifth-generation video-capable iPods with brighter screens and longer battery life.
The iTunes Music Store — now simply the iTunes Store — sells full-length movies optimized for viewing on the video iPod, and launched the new service with 75 titles from Disney’s various studios, including Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar, Touchstone Pictures and Miramax Films.
Disney was the only company to be announced during Apple’s “It’s Showtime” special event last week, but many analysts consider it inevitable that other studios will follow suit. Similarly, when iTunes began offering television shows for download last year, Disney-owned ABC led the pack. Apple now features television shows from all the major networks.