Movie Downloads Update - August 2008

Lets catch up on this months (August 2008) movie download industry news in the UK.

BBC iPlayer
The BBC iPlayer, backed by an eyewatering �131m budget over five years, had its full launch at Christmas. It offers a seven-day catch-up TV service via PC. Users can also download programmes within the week after transmission and then have 30 days to watch a show. In May the service was extended to TV through Virgin Media's cable platform. The iPlayer is free to UK licence fee payers. The iPlayer is also accessible through devices such as the iPhone and iPod touch. Content is mostly UK produced shows although there is increasingly US programming as new rights deals are struck.

BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, sell shows via iTunes for around �1.89 per episode and is a partner in Project Kangaroo.

ITV
ITV injected �20m into developing ITV.com's capability with an online TV player last summer. ITV.com simulcasts the broadcaster's channels and offers catch-up TV for 30 days after transmission. ITV's service has the benefits of a huge archive of programming. The service is ad-funded.

Channel 4
Channel 4 was the first terrestrial broadcaster to market with an online TV service with the 4oD download service in 2006. Channel 4 has developed its offering with a streamed, seven-day catch-up service via Channel4.com. 4oD offers TV downloads as an ad-funded 30-day catch up service and movies on a pay-per-view basis.

Project Kangaroo
Project Kangaroo, the online TV joint venture between BBC Worldwide, ITV and Channel 4, was earmarked to launch by the end of the year. It is currently being investigated by the Competition Commission. Assuming it eventually gets the green light from regulators it is expected to be an archive-driven service focusing on the "best of British television". It is thought that the model will try and exploit the window for content post seven-day catch-up.

Channel Five
Channel Five finally got into the online TV game in a big way with the launch of Demand Five, a massive improvement over the previous bare bones offering Five Download. Demand Five is a mixed catch-up and download service that offers a pay-per-view archive of Five's leading US shows , such as CSI, at around 99p. Cleverly, it also offers a pre-transmission pay-perview window for some US shows at around �1.99. Five was frozen out of the deal to be a launch partner in Project Kangaroo.

Apple
Apple has moved beyond its instantly recognisable music roots to branch out into movies and TV shows. In June the company began offering more than 700 movies through iTunes UK, the first market outside its US stronghold, with downloaded rentals priced at �2.49 for library films and �3.49 for new releases. Download-to-own films are priced at �6.99 for a library title and �10.99 for new releases.

Sky
Sky's main online service, the Sky Player, offers TV shows, sport and movies. Sky customers get different levels of access to content depending on their subscription package. Non-Sky customers can buy download-to-own TV shows. Sky also offers TV and movies via Sony's Playstation Portable device under the Go! View brand as a payper-view or subscription service. The company also has the Sky Anytime on TV service although it is not a true VoD service. Instead it relies on broadcast content being stored on the Sky+ personal video recorder, which instead allows users to select programmes from the linear TV schedule from the past seven days.

Virgin Media
Virgin Media offers a wide-range of US and UK TV content, including HBO, Warner, BBC and Channel 4 content, available as a �5 subscription on-demand or part of free seven-day catch-up service. BBC iPlayer was made available as part of on-demand service in May. Music videos, concerts and adult content are available on a pay-per-view basis with prices ranging from 20p through to �5.50.

This information was provided by the Guardian Newspaper
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