Walt Disney Co. hopes to capitalize on exploding interest in its self-destructing DVDs by expanding trials of the discs into Florida and other major markets in April, the company said Friday.
Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Disney’s video unit, plans to cut the price to $5.99 from $6.99 as it nearly quadruples the number of outlets with the discs, aimed chiefly at video renters who find returns a hassle, a spokesman said.
Environmentalists criticize the waste of discs that must be thrown away, while Disney says it has a recycling program and that the customers love the convenience.
The self-destructing EZ-D DVDs, developed by privately held Flexplay Technologies, quit playing 48 hours after they are opened as a chemical reacts with air, obscuring the tracks on the disc so a laser cannot read them.
That means retail shops and other companies can join the competition for distributing home movies without having to set up systems for returns and tracking videos.
7-Eleven Inc. convenience stores and pizza chain Papa John’s International Inc. are both carrying the discs in the trials, Disney said.
Disney so far is releasing the disposable DVDs after the original DVD lands in retail stores so that they do not compete with first-run home video rentals and sales.
The entertainment giant, which says embracing technology is a key strategic goal, is also testing a set-top box called MovieBeam that stocks a regularly updated selection of movies and recently licensed digital rights management programs from Microsoft Corp., with an eye to distributing its films on the Web.
Disney will expand the EZ-D trial to Florida as well as Phoenix, Arizona, San Antonio, Texas, and Denver, Colorado, in April and May. The DVDs launched last September in four cities.
More than 2,500 outlets will carry the disposable DVDs, up from about 700 in the first phase of the trial, a Disney spokesman said. There are no plans yet for a national roll-out.
