Hollywood makes blockbuster films available via download-to-own
CinemaNow and Movielink both announced they will be offering films to download and own on the same day as the DVD release. Movielink and CinemaNow have both signed download-to-own deals with major Hollywood studios such as Universal Pictures, Warner Brothers and Twentieth Century Fox.
BiBC Comment:
Following on from Universal’s announcement, it seems that firms are finally cottoning on to the idea that movie downloads are a medium set to explode in popularity. The film industry’s move online has been on the cards for a while but concerns about piracy have made it slow in coming.
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Universal launches film download service
Universal Studios has partnered with AOL and Lovefilm to be the first of the big movie houses to offer download distribution.
BiBC Comment:
Universal has taken a brave step forward in being the first of the big filmmakers to offer film downloads. Universal demonstrates what BiBC has been arguing for the last 6 months – it is plausible for video downloads to be secure.
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Digital Rights Management comes under attack
The National Consumer Council (NCC) has announced that anti piracy efforts are eroding established rights to digital media. They claim that attempts to thwart piracy are affecting the rights of the consumer and are preventing them making compilations for their own use or moving digital copies between devices.
BiBC Comment:
Digital Rights Management (DRM) can be a confusing issue, and many media companies are taking audacious steps to prevent any threat of piracy. For example, all the music bought on itunes will only play on a pod and Apple certainly doesn’t make this as clear as it could.
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Sky and Google launch downloadable video services
Sky and Google have launched new video download services. A positive move for the digital industry and proves a determination amongst companies to respond to the growing demand from consumers to receive their content through a variety of different mediums.
BiBC Comment:
Sky has realised that users want a choice of ways to view their video content and quite rightly content owners and distributors are starting to respond to that. Sky’s service though is only available to people who subscribe to the full movie or sports package.
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