Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Apple and Pixar, a match made in Cyberspace?

With Pixar short films available on the newly released iTunes 6 software and the release of the Video Capable iPod, I am led to predict that we will see additional synergies between Apple and Pixar or an outright purchase of Pixar by Apple Computer.

Think about it, Disney and Pixar's relationship hasn't been the greatest of late and in fact, is on shaky ground. In January of 2004 Pixar announced that it was not going to continue it's relationship with Disney.

A brief history of the Pixar-Disney relationship:
Disney bankrolled Pixar's early days as it provided a majority of the funding to create the hit movie "Toy Story". Disney made a fortune on the film leaving Pixar with a small piece of the profit pie. Disney and Pixar later collaborated on "Monsters, Inc.", "Finding Nemo", and "The Incredibles"

The CEO of Pixar, who happens to be Steve Jobs (the same Steve Jobs of Apple Computer), wanted to negotiate a better deal for Pixar that would allow it greater flexibility and control over sequels to previusly released films. Disney wasn't keen on the idea and rejected Pixar's proposals. The rest is as they say, "History".

I think that Apple would be an ideal company to distribute Pixar's movies and content online. Pixar is already developing their content with Apple's PowerMacs line of professional computers. Apple is the world's leading Digital content provider. Apple's strength in the consumer segment and the popularity of it's iPod and iTunes music store allows the company to distribute content directly to the end user. The video iPod is just the beginning of video delivery to the consumer and is a harbinger of things to come.

The union makes sense. Not only would it save money for both companies but it will also drive the video content and delivery revolution. It's a match made in Cyberspace!

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