The broad reorganization at the top of Walt Disney Studios, including former home entertainment chief Bob Chapek’s expanded role (in case you missed it, he’s now in charge of all aspects of film distribution from movie theaters to Blu-ray to digital and mobile distribution), sent a powerful message across the movie industry, particularly to movie theaters, that there’s no more "business as usual" at the Mouse House.

Disney corporate chief Bob Iger and new studio boss Richard Ross are all about sliding windows to maximize profit and more targeted (read cheaper) marketing using social networks and the Web, as well as developing family-friendly brand franchises that can be exploited across businesses and platforms. This last part, of course, is a long established Disney strategy.

But while this aggressive modernization of studio business for the digital era is being heraldedin some quarters as a groundbreaking move that could be emulated by other studios, it strikes me as something the home entertainment business is already quite familiar with.

Business as usual flew out the window for home entertainment sometime ago, right about the time DVD sales plateaued and new formats started to proliferate faster than audiences could be educated about them.

The most aggressive experimentation with windows has been going on with packaged media and numerous forms of VOD. Think about iTunes. About the fact that 10 major new releases are day-and-date on VOD and packaged media this month. About Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs on Bravia TVs a month before it’s on DVD and Blu-ray. Think about MOD.

Perhaps the fact that Chapek has been grappling with these challenges on the front lines in home entertainment is what made him the natural choice for Disney’s distribution chief. Same challenges ahead, just bigger in scope.