Source: PCWorld.com
Hollywood studios study how they can make money selling downloadable movies (and avoid pirates).
The fear of a "Napster for movies" rearing its head has major Hollywood studios working on plans to provide feature films via the Internet, industry sources say. |
"What appears to be happening in the market is that Sony and Disney are exploring this area, and there are discussions among all the studios with each other," says one source familiar with the situation.
Industry sources say both Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment and Walt Disney appear to be exploring ways to provide so-called video-on-demand services over the Internet in separate initiatives and in cooperation with other studios.
Sony has already developed a platform that will allow customers to download movies, which it expects to launch next year, according to people familiar with the situation.
These sources said Sony has invited other studios to invest and participate in the venture, including Time Warner's Warner Bros. unit.
"People want to see movies on the Internet, and we, along with other studios, plan to give them a chance to do that," says Yair Landau, president of Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment.
A Warner Bros. spokesperson had no immediate comment, but The Wall Street Journal recently quoted Warren Lieberfarb, president of Warner Home Video, as saying that the company is in "active discussions" about licensing its movies to Sony for its venture.
Industry sources also say Disney is talking with News Corporation's Twentieth Century Fox studio about becoming a partner in an Internet site that will also allow movies to be downloaded. Neither company would comment.
