Apple Announces Feature-length Downloads for iTunes
In a special presentation yesterday, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the new iTunes movie store, which will enable users to buy and download feature-length films.
The initial slate of 100 movies includes an offering of titles from Disney-affiliated labels Pixar, Miramax, Touchstone, as well as Disney-branded films. A forthcoming deal with Lionsgate is expected, but was not announced during the presentation. The films will be priced at $14.99 for new releases and $9.99 for catalog titles, but customers who pre-order new releases can order them for $12.99. The video files will use the H.264 codec and will be at 640 x 480 resolution, which is “near DVD” quality and suitable for viewing on standard TV sets.
Apple also gave a sneak preview of a new product tentatively called “iTV,” which is a set-top box that will enable users to stream downloaded movies, music, and photos from a computer to a consumer’s television set. The wireless box will also have HDMI output, which should be able to address the studio’s piracy concerns. The iTV release date is slated for sometime in 1Q 2007.
When compared to the lackluster release of Amazon’s Unbox service last week, the Apple offering looks like an improvement if they can secure a wider base of content partners. However, the pricing structure for DRM-hobbled, low-quality video without packaging or special features seems too high. For example, for $20 dollars, you can pick up Miramax’s ‘Kinky Boots’ DVD on Amazon, and for that price you will get DVD quality video, Dolby 5.1 sound, two featurettes, deleted scenes, commentaries, and foreign language tracks. You can play it on any DVD player in or out of the home, and if you wanted to, an individual with minimal technical knowledge can rip a DRM-free version to play on their iPod (albeit illegally). Therein lies the real problem: creating a downloadable product that offers consumers the same level of choice for the same price as a physical product, or reducing the price to reflect the true value to the consumer.
Perhaps the recent conjecture is right - maybe the studios aren't interested in seeing downloads cannibalize DVD sales just yet.
Report: Consumers Slow to Adopt Mobile Video
According to a new study released by market research firm Knowledge Networks today, much of the buzz surrounding mobile video content is currently little more than marketing hype.
The company's research discovered that more than half of the subscribers of mobile video services such as Verizon’s VCast don’t bother to actually view any video content, and thirty percent of Video iPod owners have never used the device to view videos. However, among laptop users, more than 90 percent use their device to watch video content. The study also showed a growing acceptance for ad-supported content in the form of pre-rolls.
Knowledge Networks derived their data by surveying 2,400 consumers between ages 13 and 54 who owned devices capable of accessing mobile content, and also held individual interview sessions to gain deeper insights on individual consumer behavior.
The bottom line for movie marketers: Unless your film is highly targeted to the same demographic as consumers of video content on cell phones, the user base and consumption habits don’t warrant the investment in video-based marketing content – at least not yet. Producing content for video iPods is advisable, however, simply because the costs for encoding the content alongside the encoding costs for web streaming are marginal. In fact, if movie marketing video content is uploaded to popular video sharing sites like Google Video or Guba, their software will convert the content automatically.
Pathe Promos New Horror Film with PlayStation Portable Downloads
According to Netimperative, French film company Pathe is promoting their latest horror flick 'The Descent' by creating special trailers for use on the PlayStation Portable:
Anna Butler, marketing director at Pathe, said: We wanted to try something new with out trailer downloads, we already commit a substantial amount of work to promoting each film digitally and this seemed like a natural progression.
"PSPs are an exciting development and we wanted to start using this new medium.
Interactive agency Greenroom Digital helped make the promotion happen, and Pathe will team up with them again in the near future to promote upcoming releases 'The Crash' and 'The Business.'
You can download the trailer here if you happen to have a PSP and want to see it.
[ Via Netimperative]
Anchor Bay Joins Growing List of UMD Distributors
According to Home Media Retailing, Anchor Bay Entertainment will become the latest indie retailer to release titles for the UMD format:
Anchor Bay, known chiefly for its large library of horror films, will begin its rollout Aug. 23 with six titles on the Universal Media Disc (UMD) format: Halloween, Evil Dead, Time Bandits, Blood the Last Vampire, Ghost in the Shell and Ninja Scroll. Each title will be priced at $19.98.
Ray Gagnon, SVP of sales for Anchor Bay, says all six films appeal primarily to PSPs target young-male demographic. He said Anchor Bay was prompted to take the plunge because theres so much support among big retailers.
Based on their release slate, Anchor Bay's approach looks like it will initially focus on proven back catalog titles, as opposed to new releases.
Every major distributor besides Warner is now on board, with over 100 titles available by the holiday shopping season. PSPs will likely be a hot commodity this christmas, which may be what prompts the smaller retailers currently on the sidelines into the game (especially in the Anime arena).
[Via Home Media Retailing]
UK Cinema Chains to Promote New Releases via Wireless
According to Media Week, UK Cinema chains UCI and Odeon will being giving away a "digital entertainment pack" with every movie ticket sold. The pack will give consumers access to movie content via WAP:
Duncan Cheadle, sales director of Urban Mobile, said: We're beta testing a new service where customers will be sent a message containing a video preview of a new film, from which they can visit the WAP site.
Demand for mobile entertainment is set to explode over the next two years and UCI and Odeon recognised that here is a great opportunity to market to customers, with information they want in a format they want it.
With the next generation of video-enabled phones on the way, users will soon be craving content - we should be getting a blizzard of announcements like these over the next 18 months. The implications for movie marketers is clear -- video previews and trailers will be a popular entertainment choice for mobile video consumers.
[Via Media Week]
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