Disney has announced that it will no longer release its movies or TV shows on physical media formats in Australia; meaning no more DVD, Blu-rays or 4K Blu-ray discs from the House of Mouse if you live down under. Instead, the media monopoly will shift its focus to digital releases and its Disney+ streaming service in Oz, effective immediately.
This transition is expected to begin after the release of Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 in the coming week, marking the final movie that Disney will release on the continent before it switches to its digital-only strategy.
This has much wider implications than just princess fairytale films and Marvel blockbusters, as Disney also owns the Star Wars, Indiana Jones and The Simpsons franchises, as well as National Geographic and the entire 20th Century Fox content catalogue, plus much more. This means that any intellectual property relating to these franchises will no longer receive physical home video discs in Australia, whether thats for upcoming films and television programmes, or re-releases of older content such as 4K remasters.
We raised our concerns relating to the impending death of 4K Blu-ray just last week, and this seems to be the first official nail in the coffin. While we hope this trend is directly attributed to Australia's dwindling physical media sales, we can't help but get slightly nervous, especially as this is being spearheaded by the biggest media brand on the planet.
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