MADRID — Spanish mini-major Filmax Ent., co-producer of Tom Tykwer's "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" and the driving force behind Brad Anderson's pics "The Machinist" and "Transsiberian," has launched a film, TV and social network web portal called Yodecido.
The site, which targets Spanish consumers in the first phase of its rollout and plans to reach out to international viewers later, offers 700 plus film titles and around 3 million songs.
Pics offered online have been produced or distributed in Spain by Filmax; the music store sells songs from top global players such as Sony-BMG, EMI and Warner.
The Yodecido business model is a classic double whammy. It sells movies via a download-to-own system, and offers rental through streaming.
Yodecido also offers niche TV channels, often packaging library pics, such as genre fare feed Cine Fantastico and family-targeted service Cine Familiar. Channels will be financed by advertising.
Rental prices for films range from Euros 1.95 ($2.50) to $5. Download-to-own costs $6-$15.
"What is key is to experiment, to see what works,” said Filmax chairman Julio Fernandez, who expects the site to break even in its third year of operation. The site’s start-up costs were $2.6 million.
The VOD window for download is around 32 weeks after a film's theatrical release, coinciding with its traditional DVD sell-thru window in Spain, said Filmax new media director Josep Monleon.
Portal's main challenge is piracy: Spain saw an estimated 527 million unauthorized movie downloads last year.
"Spain is still to ramp-up broadband penetration. When the market is maturer, telco's will turn to content distribution," said Sydney Borjas, new media division exec at rights management entity SGAE.
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