Universal signs T-Com pact
Deal covers download-to-own
The agreement, announced Wednesday, makes T-Com the first digital retailer in Germany to offer a legal and secure download-to-burn option for major studio films, such as "King Kong," "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" and "Jarhead."
As part of the agreement, the telco has secured new download-to-own rights and renewed video-on-demand rights to a wide array of NBC U content in Germany via its T-Home IPTV service and its VOD platform T-Online.
Broadband consumers in Germany will be able to download Universal films and legally burn them to DVD as part of the new service, set to launch in the second quarter of the year.
Customers will be able to purchase most titles day-and-date with their DVD release in Germany, giving them two Windows Media files — one optimized for PC viewing and the other for viewing on portable Windows Media enabled video devices. A third file can be burnt once to DVD.
T-Com's download-to-own and VOD has 100 films available in its catalog but that number is set to increase in coming months. Recent NBC U titles included in the deal include "Inside Man" and "Miami Vice" as well as the anime series "Saber Raider."
NBC U and T-Com have had an existing content agreement since 2003.
