Amazon / Lovefilm get non-exclusive rights to Disney content in UK

[PSound]

More to come when I find the story..

[PSound]

Here is one take:

Disney to Supply Films for Amazon's Lovefilm Online Service in the U.K.

Walt Disney Co. (DIS) agreed to supply films online to U.K. customers of Lovefilm, the Amazon.com Inc (AMZN).- owned company that operates a subscription-based movie-rental service in Europe.

Lovefilm will add more than 50 Disney titles including “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” and “Dead Poets Society” to movies it offers online to U.K. subscribers paying 5.99 pounds ($9.74) and up per month, according to a statement today. The company, which claims 1.6 million customers, also offers DVDs by mail, like Netflix Inc. (NFLX) in the U.S., as well as video games.

The Disney agreement also provides Lovefilm with newer movies like “Tron: Legacy” to offer for a pay-per-view fee, the company said. Seattle-based Amazon, which acquired Lovefilm in January, started a U.S. service to compete with Netflix in February with 5,000 movies and TV shows. The subscription service is an add-on to Amazon Instant Video, which offers more than 90,000 movies and TV shows to buy or rent.

Lovefilm’s U.K. subscribers pay as much as 19.39 pounds a month for unlimited mail and streaming viewing of films, TV shows and games. The company also operates in Germany, Sweden, Denmark and Norway.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-0...e-in-u-k-.html

[PSound]

Lovefilm and The Walt Disney Company have signed a deal that brings Disney movie and TV content to the rental service's streaming platform. Older titles will be available to watch as part of a subscription package, while newer films will initially be Transactional Video on Demand (TVOD) - pay per view.

More than fifty movies, such as National Treasure, Bedknobs and Broomsticks and Dead Poets Society, can be viewed through either Lovefilm's online website, the dedicated application on PlayStation 3, or a variety of connected TVs and Blu-ray players from Samsung and Sony. They are available to stream for no extra cost as part of an existing subscription.

The deal also includes more recent titles (and those yet to be released), like Tron: Legacy and the forthcoming animated classic Tangled. However, these will cost a minimum of £3.49 and be available to watch for a two day window after purchase.

Unfortunately, at present, TVOD content is not available through connected devices, such as PS3, TVs and BD decks. Currently, pay per view content can only be viewed on a PC or Mac. You could always hook a laptop to your TV though.

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/3964...film-streaming

[PSound]

Netflix does carry Disney’s stuff on its Web service. It has the ability to show Disney movies, like “Toy Story 3,” via a deal with the Starz pay network that expires in less than a year. It also has access to some Disney/ABC TV shows.

But Lovefilm, which became a wholly-owned unit of Amazon earlier this year, now has a direct deal with Disney to stream its older movies via its subscription service, and can sell newer titles, like “Tangled,” on pay-per-view.

The deal is incremental for Lovefilm, and it’s not exclusive. But it does underscore how much work Netflix will have to do if it wants to expand outside of North America–a goal the company has said is important to its future success.

http://mediamemo.allthingsd.com/2011...mod=googlenews

[Malanthius]

Just another step towards the future of how people will get their movies. The studios have no choice.

[TheAnalogKid]

Just another step towards the future of how people will get their movies. The studios have no choice.

Yep. People will have more options than ever in the future. Disc, VOD, Streaming, EST and who knows what else will come along. Sounds good to me.