Disney to Sell Digital Comics on IPhone, Other Devices

Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Walt Disney Co., the world’s largest media company, will start selling comics to users of Apple Inc.’s iPhone and other devices tomorrow to take advantage of increased demand for digital content.

The Digicomics service will be accessible through Apple’s iPhone and iPod touch and Sony Corp.’s PlayStation Portable, or PSP, Disney developers Dario Di Zanni and Gianfranco Cordara said at a presentation in Milan today. It will initially be available in the U.S., the U.K. and other English-speaking countries.

“Digicomics has great potential and we expect it to become the gold standard for comics in the digital world,” Robert Hernandez, senior vice president of Disney Publishing Worldwide, said in a statement. “With Digicomics, our readers have new ways to enjoy our comics in addition to the many different print formats currently offered.”

Disney, based in Burbank, California, plans to roll out the application in other European countries and add new devices, video-game consoles and platforms including the Internet next year.

To contact the reporters on this story: Chiara Remondini in Milan at cremondini@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Vidya Root at vroot@bloomberg.net.