Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Inc. and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Inc. are the biggest rivals in the technology industry, yet Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) has achieved the impossible: getting the two competitors together on a single page. In a groundbreaking deal, any movie purchased on the Disney Movie Anywhere app, either on Android Play Store or iOS AppStore, will now be accessible on both Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) devices.

Tuesday onwards, users of either Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) or Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) devices will be able to purchase Disney (NYSE:DIS) movies from the Disney Movies Anywhere app without any fear of portability issues. Both Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) have decided to share digital content rights for all Disney (NYSE:DIS) movies available on the Disney Movies Anywhere app. So, from today onwards, if users purchase “Tangled” off the Disney Movies Anywhere app on their iPhone, they would be able to play it on Android devices as well, without any sort of a barrier whatsoever.

Before this unprecedented move, both Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) had placed restrictions on the access of digital content on other platforms. Content purchased off the iTunes was only playable on devices running the iOS, or the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Mac or Windows PC. Content bought off the Android Play Store was only playable on devices running Android OS.

This similarity in policy stems from the general principle of forced customer loyalty. By disallowing cross-platform mobility, both Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) compelled customers to buy content and built a digital library on only a single platform, either Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s or Google (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s. This took away the liberty from consumers to switch from one platform to the other, as doing so meant the loss of the digital library so built.

Now users of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) devices don’t have to worry about such a limitation when purchasing digital content off of Disney Movie Anywhere app. The movies available will be sold on a wholesale rate set by Disney (NYSE:DIS) on both the platforms.

According to Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)’s CTO (Chief Technology Officer), the move has been initiated by Disney to protect the rights of its consumers, and to make them “comfortable with building their digital movies collection.”

Disney Movies Anywhere is the first platform where Disney (NYSE:DIS) sells its digital content. All other major Hollywood studios use another similar platform called Ultraviolet, which also allows users to build a digital library free from any portability restrictions.

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s market share is 61%, whereas Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) contributes 7% to all the digital content sold worldwide. With the new coalition of the two companies for Disney Movies Anywhere, the app is going to target over 68% of the market, a figure unprecedented by its competitors.

Ultraviolet, though released two years before Disney Movies Anywhere, has failed to garner popularity among the masses. Currently, it is responsible for only 12% of the digital content sold. Amazon’s digital store accounts for only 9% digital sales worldwide.

Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) share a close relationship ever since the former acquired Pixar Animation Studios in 2006, because Steve Jobs, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s Founder, controlled Pixar. Also, Chief Executive of Disney (NYSE:DIS), Robert Iger, is on the board of Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Inc.

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