In a major change in the way Hollywood distributes its films, four major studios have made a deal with an online movie service that allows customers to download movies and burn them onto a DVD.
The agreement comes more than two months since Vivid Entertainment became the first adult studio to allow consumers to download and burn titles onto DVD.
Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Pictures, Walt Disney Co.’s Buena Vista Home Entertainment and Metro Goldwyn Mayer have signed a deal with CinemaNow Inc., which operates www.cinemanow.com which will offer more than 100 movies that can be copied onto a DVD disc for about $9 a movie, the Los Angeles Times reported today.
The deal may well be a precursor to another deal being worked out between the studios and Apple Computer Inc. which would also provide Hollywood movies for downloading through its iTunes online shop.
The new agreement marks a significant shift in the way Hollywood studios distribute its movies by giving consumers a chance to make their own DVD versions of popular mainstream titles. The action comes as the studios continue to post losses due to illegal copying of their movies.
Yet despite continuing bootlegging of movies, Universal Pictures Vice Chairman Rick Finkelstein said Hollywood must respond to consumer demand for downloading its titles.
CinemaNow’s service features anti-piracy software prevents the copying of burned DVDs themselves.
The first titles offered through the service are Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Barbershop and Scent of a Woman.
Studio bosses say the service also allows them to offer older movies that may not be found at mass-market retailers. Already, some retailers are considering setting up online movie services.
But even as the initiative gains steam, some studios remain unconvinced as evidenced by the absence from the service by 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures.
CinemaNow’s main competitor, Movielink, which partly owned by Sony, Disney, Universal and MGM, has said it has made a deal, giving it the technology to provide DVD burning, but it has yet to announce any details about potential titles it would offer.
Marina del Rey, Calif.-based CinemaNow has been offering pay-per-view, streaming Hollywood movies on its Web site since it was founded in 1999.
