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Walt Disney Co. is asking theater operators to agree to a shorter time between movie debuts and DVD releases, specifically starting with Alice in Wonderland, in an effort to boost home video sales. The move comes as studios try to find ideas to speed the release times of DVDs to fight slumping DVD revenues.

Executives at Microsoft are fond of saying that its subscription gaming service, Xbox Live, should be thought of as a cable channel.

The company is even producing shows for users: it is in the middle of the second season of “1 vs. 100,” an interactive version of a game show that was on NBC.The content ambitions do not end there. Microsoft has held in-depth talks with the Walt Disney Company about a programming deal with ESPN, according to people close to the talks, who requested anonymity because the talks were intended to be private.

For a per-subscriber fee, ESPN could provide live streams of sporting events, similar to the ones available through ESPN 360,

According to the LA Times, the number of DVD and video stores in Spain has dropped 25% since 2003 -- contributing to the 30% freefall in home entertainment revenue.

However, unlike Warner Bros., which announced its deal with Blockbuster two weeks ago, 20th Century Fox hasn’t inked agreements with Netflix or Redbox that would delay their own new release windows. In fact, Redbox is still in the midst of a legal battle with Fox, after the studio sought to keep retailers from selling DVDs that the company could put into its kiosks.

Sony Pictures Entertainment and 20th Century Fox are at the heart of today’s news, which, combined with an earlier deal struck with Warner Bros., will extend Blockbuster’s ability to rent movies on the same day and date that they go on sale at other retailers.