Sony pacts with Japan VOD supplier

Deal will go into effect on Sept. 1

By MARK SCHILLING

Sony Pictures Entertainment and Jupiter VOD, a vid-on-demand supplier to the Japanese cable market, have inked a license agreement for films and other contents.

The deal will go into effect on Sept. 1, when Jupiter VOD will start distributing SPE contents to J:COM, a cable supplier operated by Jupiter Telecommunications, Japan's largest MSO based on customer numbers, as well as one of Jupiter VOD's two corporate parents. Among the SPE films on the  line-up are "Zathura," "Men in Black" and "Charlie's Angels."

With the addition of SPE to its client roster, Jupiter VOD will supply contents from six Hollywood studios, including MGM, Par, Fox, Buena Vista Intl. Television and Warner Bros. Television..

Established in May 2004, Jupiter VOD is a joint venture of Jupiter Telecommunications (J:COM) and Jupiter TV, a channel provider to Japanese cable stations and satellite digital services. It began providing VOD services on J:COM in January 2005, including foreign and domestic pics, animation and dramas.