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Disney to Sell Films to Own on CinemaNow

Posted on: Wednesday, 31 May 2006, 00:00 CDT

By GARY GENTILE

LOS ANGELES - Disney films such as "Glory Road" and the animated "Chicken Little" will soon be available to own via computer download from the Internet-based movie site CinemaNow, but the movies can't be played on a standalone DVD player.

The companies were expected to announce Wednesday that CinemaNow will sell the films for $19.95 and in June will allow consumers to transfer films to a portable device running Microsoft Corp.'s Windows Media software.

In a deal similar to others announced in April, The Walt Disney Co. will sell its films online the same day they become available on DVD, thus closing the gap between DVD sales and video-on-demand by several months. The deal includes new releases plus some library titles.

Consumers will be able to watch their films on up to three devices and will be able to make a backup DVD copy that will only play on a computer.

CinemaNow will offer the option of transferring the film to a portable device later in June.

Major Hollywood studios have not yet allowed films to be burned onto a DVD that can be played on a standard DVD player, although adult entertainment company Vivid Entertainment has started doing just that through CinemaNow.

In April, Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox and MGM began selling some first-run and older titles on Movielink, a PC-only download service jointly owned by five Hollywood studios.

Those films are priced between $20 and $30.

Sony and Lionsgate have also begun selling some films on CinemaNow, which is partly owned by Microsoft, Lionsgate, Cisco Systems Inc. and Blockbuster Inc. Lionsgate is owned by Lionsgate Entertainment Corp.

CinemaNow said it is negotiating with other studios to offer films on the site. Announcements of similar deals could come as early as this week.

Portability is a key factor for studios such as Disney, whose films are watched as often by children riding in cars as college students on their computers. Disney's deal with CinemaNow is it's first foray into the download-to-own market, although it rents its films online.

Portability also makes it easier to transfer a movie from a computer in a den or bedroom to a large TV screen in the living room, where most people prefer to watch films.

Movielink does not yet offer transfer of films to portable devices, although the company said it hopes to have that feature within a year.

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On the Net:

http://www.cinemanow.com

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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