Intel, studio form movie download venture

Intel and actor Morgan Freeman's movie production company, Revelations Entertainment, said Wednesday that they have formed a new venture aimed at distributing first-run movies over the Internet.

The new company, called ClickStar, is taking on an unfamiliar and potentially controversial role in Hollywood circles that have viewed online distribution as a potentially destabilizing force on DVD sales. Most online movie ventures, such as Movielink and CinemaNow, are allowed to distribute films only after they have been in home video circulation for up to several months.

However, Intel and Revelations said that consumers have shown they want to download films earlier and that traditional DVD releases aren't meeting that demand.

"Our view is that making content available on the Internet is not an option--it is an imperative for the industry, given piracy and consumer demands for flexibility," said ClickStar's new chief executive officer, Nizar Allibhoy, a former Sony Pictures executive. "Our motto is, 'Anytime, anyplace, on any device.'"

The move highlights the growing role that Internet movie distribution is likely to play in the wake of successes such as Apple Computer's iTunes in the music business.

http://filesharingtalk.com/vb3/image...ews_source.gif Source: http://news.zdnet.com/Intel,+studio+...&subj=technews

Edit : I like this quote from the talk back section of the link .

Carrots versus sticks
One positive thing about this plan--it does offer the consumer an
advantage over DVDs, and that's being able to see a first run movie
at home while it's still in the theater. The MPAA needs to work on
more of these ideas, things that make the new product better for
the consumer, if they expect it to supplant DVDs, and if they
expect the consumer to be happy with the loss of function the DRM
is going to cause.
Posted by: tic swayback Posted on: 07/06/05