Home Media Magazine - September 30 - October 6, 2007 - (Page 12)

ELECTRONIC DELIVERY www.homemediamagazine.com CCA Says OK to Burn Copy Control Association will allow burning of legal video downloads By Chris Tribbey he DVD Copy Control Association will allow video purchased over the Internet to be burned to DVDs that play on almost every DVD player. The Sept. 20 decision may boost consumers and companies offering video downloads. The DVD CCA will allow its Content Scramble System (CSS) software, the copy protection included on most DVDs, to be licensed out, allowing consumers to take video they’ve downloaded, burn it to a DVD with CSS encryption, and play it back on any standard DVD player. Study: Adult Consumers Want Their Digital Delivery to Go to the Television, Not the PC By Erik Gruenwedel dult broadband users prefer to stream movie rentals to the television and not the PC or remote device, according to a new study. The study appears to be at odds with digital rental strategies put forward by Blockbuster and Netflix. The former recently purchased online download service Movielink with the A T “This important change is in direct response to industry and consumer demand for new legal alternatives for the creation and digital distribution of secure DVD content,” said Chris Cookson, chairman of the DVD CCA Board. “Now that the process needed to enable this exciting capability is complete, we anticipate that new products and services will quickly appear in the marketplace.” In addition to giving online movie providers better ability to offer download-to-burn options to consumers, DVD kiosk operators might be able to expand their DVD offerings. intent to expand Total Access beyond the mailbox. Online rental pioneer Netflix has spent millions offering rental streams to the PC. With cable video-on-demand emerging as a movie rental distribution channel, the report by Dublinbased Research and Markets said digital rental habits among adult broadband users are more fickle than ever. The study found that among consumers who rent movies from a traditional video rental store, 12% to 15% also use pay-per-view and VOD, and 14% use direct mail (online) services. About 30% of users feel comfortable downloading movies from the Internet and a majority said it was “imperative” rental services target the home TV and not the computer. Report Says Record Media Spending Spurred by Tech By Chris Tribbey .S. consumers are spending a record amount of their budget on media, pay-perview and video-on-demand, according to a new report from research firm SNL Kagan. The report, “Media Trends 2007,” projects revenue in the fields will more than triple in the next decade, and that basic cable is being watched more than broadcast networks nearly 3-to-1. BRIEFS I SPRINGSTEEN GETS OWN AMAZON MUSIC STORE How big is Bruce Springsteen? Amazon.com thinks he’s big enough for his own online music store. Sept. 14 the retailer launched www.amazon.com/springsteen, its largest-ever music store for a single artist. On the site, fans can watch music videos, buy Springsteen albums, view concert details and vote for their favorite Springsteen song. Amazon premiered the music video of “Long Walk Home” on Amazon.com for five days. – Chris Tribbey U “Older media players are enhancing or expanding their businesses via new technologies,” said Deana Myers, SNL Kagen senior analyst. “Content owners and distributors are using digital to reach new audiences and boost revenue, while cable MSOs (multiple system operators) have made significant gains in the phone and high-speed data arenas.” Consumers are spending a record of 1.85% of the average annual income on media, according to the report, mostly due to the wider range of products available, and the higher price tag for high-definition items. Other findings: I Online and retransmission of copyrighted content figures to be a source of big money in the coming years. I Pay-per-view and VOD will be worth nearly $9 billion a year in 2017. I U.S. wireless subscriptions grew an astounding 12% last year, reaching 233 million, according to the report. I REPORT: IPOD BRAND LOSING DOMINANCE? A new report suggests competitors wishing to usurp the Apple iPod found in 33% of all broadband-enabled homes face daunting challenges. Portable music players from Sony and Creative each represent just 9% of the market by comparison. The study from Dublin-based Research & Markets found that 26% of respondents found the easy-to-use interface and coolness factor as top reasons for choosing the iPod over a rival music player. – Erik Gruenwedel NBC, COX TEST FREE PRIMETIME SHOWS ON DEMAND By Chris Tribbey BC Universal and Cox Communications have started a trial ondemand offer for five of NBC’s primetime shows. “30 Rock,” “Friday Night Lights,” “Las Vegas,” “Bionic Woman” and “Life” will be available for free to Cox cable subscribers in Orange County and Palos Verdes, Calif. “We are pleased to team up with Cox to bring some of NBC’s most popular programming to their subscribers on an On Demand basis,” said Henry Ahn, EVP of NBC Universal TV Networks Distribution. Episodes of the shows will be available for free the day after they air on Cox’s On Demand platform, and the fast forward feature will be disabled, so subscribers must watch the show as it originally aired. I ONLINE SERIES SPOOFS FANTASY FOOTBALL America’s obsession with fantasy football serves as the fodder for the new online series “The Fantastic Two.” The 17webisode series focuses on the shenanigans of two polar-opposite friends. The series was created by Ironbound Films and Broadband Enterprises and airs at thefantastictwo.com. – John Latchem N I ECHOSTAR TO SPLIT? One day after buying Sling Media Inc. for a reported $380 million, EchoStar Communications Corp. is looking at splitting into two companies: one for its Dish Network satellite TV services, the other for new technologies. According to news reports, EchoStar asked the Internal Revenue Service for a ruling on the implications of such a transaction. – Chris Tribbey 12 Home Media Magazine September 30–October 6, 2007 http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.amazon.com/springsteen http://www.amazon.com/springsteen http://thefantastictwo.com

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Contents News Commentary TV DVD Reviews Pipeline Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced

Home Media Magazine - September 30 - October 6, 2007

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