Lovefilm offers films for download
Web company launches two new digital services
|
More Articles:
Most Viewed:
Summit's 'Twilight' dilemma(7406 views)Spirit Award nominations announced(5418 views)Nicole Richie lands ABC project(1473 views)Steven Seagal Lawman(1359 views)'Hurt Locker' tops Gotham Awards(1245 views) |
Lovefilm has teamed with Sony and another unannounced studio to offer consumers 100 titles to download to burn from April. The initial offering will include Sony pics "Adaptation," "Spider-Man 2" and "Terminator 3" and classics such as "Groundhog Day." It reps the first U.K. such service.
In addition, Lovefilm has pacted with car manufacturer Volkswagen to provide the world's first free ad-sponsored feature film downloads. The service launches next week when "The Cooler" will be downloadable gratis. In line with VW's desire to be associated with independent cinema, the freebies will be indie pics from the existing Lovefilm library.
"Download to burn is the next step in the evolution of movie purchasing and viewing," declared Simon Calver, Lovefilm CEO. Calver said Lovefilm research has found that while only 33% of those polled download full-length feature films, 59% of respondents expressed an interest in doing so.
The ad-sponsored model will allow consumers to download features that would normally cost £2.99 ($5.77) for free in return for watching a 60-second ad from Volkswagen.
Lovefilm believes the two new platforms will smash the barriers inhibiting the growth of feature downloads by slashing costs (free in the case of ad-sponsored) and improving the flexibility of the experience; consumers are no longer tied to watching downloads in one room on one computer.
The new offerings were unveiled at a press conference Tuesday at the Soho Hotel.
