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Top Hollywood studios launch Movielink on the Internet
Los Angeles, Nov 11: Five top Hollywood studios today opened online box office Movielink in their first, tentative step to sell blockbuster films like ``Ocean`s Eleven`` on the web after years of fretting over the copyright piracy now threatening the music business.
Los Angeles, Nov 11: Five top Hollywood studios today opened online box office Movielink in their first, tentative step to sell blockbuster films like ``Ocean`s Eleven`` on the web after years of fretting over the copyright piracy now threatening the music business.
For years the studios have grappled with exactly how and when to sell movies on demand via the internet in what they see as a lucrative, new market for their libraries of movies.
Movies on DVD have been a major contributor to studios profits since their launch five years ago, ringing up total sales of 4.6 billion dollar in 2001. Industry watchers believe web-based video on demand can be even bigger.
But even Movielink chief Jim Ramo said those kinds of sales are far on the horizon. Movielink`s aim is to prove a market exists, test prices, learn about users and, importantly, send the pirates sailing into the internet sunset, he said.
``We think we are early enough in the cultural usage of movies on the web, that we are able to make the pirates, deviants,`` he told reporters in a recent interview.
Movielink lifts the curtain on its service with the backing of Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.
At its launch, Movielink is offering 170 titles from Oscar winners like 2001`s ``A Beautiful Mind`` to the classic ``Breakfast At Tiffany`s.`` In between, are action films such as ``Air Force One,`` kids flicks like ``Harry Potter and the Sorcerer`s Stone`` and comedies such as ``Men In Black.``
Prices will range from around 1.99 dollar for older titles to about 4.95 dollar for recent releases, and the service comes with VCR-like functions such as pause, rewind and fast-forward.
The movies are downloaded onto a computer hard drive, where they reside for 30 days, without being played, before being deleted.
Movielink users must have high-speed web connections, otherwise the time to download is prohibitive, Ramo said.
Once a film is started, viewers have 24 hours to watch the full movie before it is deleted, which is among the built-in protections to keep users from posting films on file-sharing web sites where they can be swapped for free.
Such peer-to-peer swap sites have clobbered the music industry and led to declining sales of CDs. The movie studios want to ensure the same thing doesn`t happen to them.
``We think we are early enough in the cultural usage of movies on the web, that we are able to make the pirates, deviants,`` he told reporters in a recent interview.
Movielink lifts the curtain on its service with the backing of Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.
At its launch, Movielink is offering 170 titles from Oscar winners like 2001`s ``A Beautiful Mind`` to the classic ``Breakfast At Tiffany`s.`` In between, are action films such as ``Air Force One,`` kids flicks like ``Harry Potter and the Sorcerer`s Stone`` and comedies such as ``Men In Black.``
Prices will range from around 1.99 dollar for older titles to about 4.95 dollar for recent releases, and the service comes with VCR-like functions such as pause, rewind and fast-forward.
The movies are downloaded onto a computer hard drive, where they reside for 30 days, without being played, before being deleted.
Movielink users must have high-speed web connections, otherwise the time to download is prohibitive, Ramo said.
Once a film is started, viewers have 24 hours to watch the full movie before it is deleted, which is among the built-in protections to keep users from posting films on file-sharing web sites where they can be swapped for free.
Such peer-to-peer swap sites have clobbered the music industry and led to declining sales of CDs. The movie studios want to ensure the same thing doesn`t happen to them.
Bureau Report