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Tag: Movies.com

  • Verizon brings Disney content to FiOS TV line-up

    Verizon brings Disney content to FiOS TV line-up

    MUMBAI: Verizon launched a full suite of archive and specially tailored Disney content video content on its broadband service and Fios TV on-demand platform.

    The two companies had announced a broad content agreement in September to dveelop video-on-demand and other content for the Verizon’s new FiOS TV service.

    Subscribers to Verizon Online DSL or Verizon FiOS Internet access will be able to watch programing provided by ABC News Now, Disney Connection, ESPN360 and Movies.com Max. An online extension of Disney-owned cable channel SoapNet, Soapnetic, will be added this year.

    Verizon’s new FiOS TV service will make available more than 80 hours a month of on-demand programing from Disney Channel, Toon Disney, Radio Disney, Jetix, ABC News, ABC Family, SoapNet, ESPN Desportes and ESPNU.

    A comprehensive video archive of Statler and Waldorf’s pearls of wisdom is just one element of the wide-ranging content being served up to Verizon’s online customers via its fibre optic-based FiOS TV service.

    Disney is using FiOS to premiere original movies from Disney Channel, Jetix and Playhouse Disney as well as new episodes of TV series including The Emperor’s New School and Little Einsteins.

    Also available are new-release movies from Buena Vista Pay Television, costing US$3.95 each on demand, with classics such as Dumbo and Alice In Wonderland being added soon for US$2.95 a punt.

    Disney and ESPN Networks Affiliate sales and marketing president Ben Pyne said, “The Walt Disney Company is committed to making our content available to consumers however and wherever they want it. As broadband continues to grow, it’s critical for us to offer our top properties to those turning to the internet and video-on-demand for a quality entertainment experience.”

    ABC News Now is a 24/7 news channel, delivering live breaking news and an array of current affairs programming. Disney Connection is child-friendly, ad-free, interactive environment for kids of all ages featuring videos, games and activities.

    ESPN360, meanwhile, is the sports networks’ broadband service, featuring exclusive and live programming, behind-the-scenes coverage and in-depth commentator analysis.

    Movies.com Max is a new service of movie-related information and entertainment channel specifically programmed for broadband audiences, which is available for the first time through Verizon. It is within this that Statler and Waldorf feature, alongside exclusive video reviews of DVDs and films from Ebert and Roeper.

  • Digital media summit in the US next week

    Digital media summit in the US next week

    MUMBAI: A Digital Media Summit organised by iHollywood Forum takes place next week in the US. The event in California from 7-8 June 2005 will look at the business opportunities in using digital technologies that create, deliver and distribute content.

    The summit will see experts talking about how content creators and service providers can make money from all areas of digital home entertainment including and cable services, video on demand, music, streaming, online gaming, home networking, home theatre, set top boxes, interactive television and subscription services such as MusicNet, Pressplay, Movies.com and Movielink.

    Topics that will be dealt with will include: dueling digital music strategies from Apple, Yahoo! Microsoft, Real and Napster; the telcoms invasion of cable operators’ television space; the explosion of HDTV; the emergence of anytime, anywhere programming on TV and portable devices; wireless and mobile programming, the latest trends in interactive games, subscription vs. downloadable content models, home networking, peer-to-peer, digital asset management, digital rights management.

    The speakers include CBS Television, senior VP, strategic planning and interactive ventures Daviod Katz, Fox Sports senior VP Ross Levinsohn, Microsoft, Director, Technical Policy Andy Moss, Google director video Jennifer Feikin and Reuters VP mobile and emerging media Stephen Smyth.

    One breakout session exmaines the The Mobile Content Explosion. Mobile entertainment may finally be coming of age as a consistent and reliable source of revenue for carriers, product developers and aggregators of content. The speakers evaluate the opportunities in mobile video and imaging, messaging, music, gaming, mobile communities, music and other areas of interest. Can the wireless business avoid the retrenchment and consolidation that followed emergence of other breakthrough technologies?

    Another session is called Digital World of Sports. Loyal sports fans are ready to pay for digital content delivered by VOD, video games, broadband, streaming, iTV and wireless. Sports executives discuss their plans for bringing digital sports into the home and on the go.

    The movie format war is discused in the session DVDs: Still the Crown Jewels? Ten years into a spectacular sales run, the DVD business is morphing. Games, soundtracks, web links and other interactive extras are now a must. Consumers are starting to buy new players that let them watch movies in multiple rooms or slice out objectionable content. A high-definition format war looms between HD DVD and Blu Ray. Video-on-demand, recordable DVDs, PVRs and piracy could hurt sales.

    The conference will also look at how interactive marketing is getting real. Internet advertising now represents more than two per cent of the ad spend for the Fortune 500 companies. Entertainment and publishing companies, with their highly visible properties, are well-positioned to cash in. This session takes a look at how companies are creating  and cashing in on  ads, promotions and sponsorship online and in emerging media such as mobile, iTV and games.