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Studio 3 Networks' epix is the new home of Lionsgate, MGM & Paramount movies
The joint venture formed by Viacom's Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate finally has a name -- Studio 3 Networks -- and today announced at NATPE '09 that its "next generation home entertainment service" with both broadband delivery and a traditional TV channel (possibly headed to a digital basic lineup near you) will be branded epix. Still most important about the new brand is that due to expiring content deals with Showtime, epix will have exclusive access to Paramount, Paramount Vantage, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Films released theatrically on or after January 1, 2008, plus all MGM, United Artists and Lionsgate flicks from the beginning of 2009 on and a release window two months shorter than the 11 months of other pay channels when it launches in the fourth quarter of this year. Still unclear is exactly where we'll be able to enjoy all 17 remastered* James Bond movies, the Indiana Jones series and more in crisp high definition, as Multichannel News caught president Mark Greenberg mentioning epix could find its way to the aforementioned digital tiers to boost satisfaction on HD content, but didn't set any quality expectations for an Internet or VOD experience. Prior to launch, expect VOD Internet access, while afterwards "authenticated" cable subscribers can get access to DVD extra-styled content online. Still, as Download Squad mentioned, first order of business should probably be buying up the epix.com, epix.net or epix.tv domain names since they're already taken.[Via Multichannel News & Download Squad]
Will BD-Live finally shine in 2009?
Let's not sugarcoat things -- BD-Live hasn't exactly been a runaway success. Sure, you could blame some of that on the fact that Profile 2.0 players are just now becoming a) affordable and b) plentiful, but really, it's the uninteresting content that's truly holding it down. According to a report over at VideoBusiness, that's set to change in 2009. Lionsgate is planning to open a dedicated BD-Live portal (christened Lionsgate Live) which will provide even casual fans with easy access to games, ringtones and filmmaker chats. Other studios are shifting focus to ensure that interactivity is seamlessly integrated and simple to navigate, not to mention getting BD-Live material onto more Blu-ray Discs. In our eyes, '09 is a make or break year for BD-Live; if consumers still aren't digging it by CES 2010, there's a good chance the investments in the technology will taper off. 'Course, those widgets sure seem to be catching eyes over on the connected HDTV side, so maybe there's hope here after all.
My Bloody Valentine 3D grosses way more in 3D than 2D
We'll admit -- we were pretty amazed to hear that Journey To The Center Of The Earth pulled in more revenue in 3D than 2D, but this figure is downright jaw-dropping. My Bloody Valentine 3D, which we noticed was one of the first big screen releases to really be pushed in the format, grossed $27 million in its opening weekend. Ready for the kicker? 3D screens outperformed 2D screens 6:1, with RealD taking credit for a staggering 71 percent of the $27 million. Moreover, the flick was also the first to ever be released in over 1,000 digital 3D locations, so we're sure that didn't hurt matters. We won't deny that we've had our sincere doubts about the future of 3D cinema, but figures like this can make even the most hardened pundit take another look. Full release is after the break.
Lionsgate exec speaks on day-and-date DVD / VOD releases
Day-and-date VOD / DVD releases -- occasions where a film is released on disc and via video-on-demand channels simultaneously -- have been happening on a small scale for awhile now, and according to a bigwig at Lionsgate, it'll remain that way for some time to come. While speaking at the annual Global Media and Communications Conference, Michael Burns told the crowd that "retail relationships were still too important for studios" when asked about the subject, noting that "we don't want to piss off retailers." Not a surprising stance for a studio vice chairman to take, we guess, but an unfortunate one regardless; holding up progress on the digital delivery front for fear of retailer rebuttal? Puhlease.
Walmart pushing Lionsgate Blu-ray Discs for $10 a pop
Generally, we wouldn't bother covering that Wally World was moving Blu-ray Discs at a discount -- after all, isn't that store like the low price leader or something? But this just reeks of something different. This just reeks of change, and we certainly hope it's a sign of things to come. With Black Friday far behind us, Walmart has seen fit to start selling a few Lionsgate (read: non-sucky) BDs for $10 each, and the news comes just days after one reporter questioned when Blu-ray software would fall more in line with the hardware in terms of dollars. Really, every other retailer out there has to pay attention to this should Walmart start to drastically undercut the rest in terms of BD pricing, so here's hoping the store puts even more at the $10 level, and soon.[Thanks, Joel]
Starz broadens offerings by landing multitude of licensing deals
Aside from producing its own original series, Starz Entertainment is also looking to outsiders to broaden its content offerings. In a recent announcement, the channel discloses that it has just closed a multitude of deals that will net it a "bevy of first run and library titles from Summit, Lionsgate, Hallmark, IFC, the Samuel Goldwyn Co., First Look and Fremantle." Better still, that material can be distributed via a variety of methods including all 16 of its linear channels, Starz HD, Starz On Demand and Starz Play (its broadband video download service). Eager to know what titles these deals will bring? Try 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, By Dawn's Early Light, Call of the Wild, Bye Bye Birdie, Hound of the Baskervilles and Rear Window -- and that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Viacom, Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM channel being shopped as digital-basic service
Although Viacom, Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM pitched in together to form a premium movie channel a while back, the group is now trying to secure itself a place more towards the digital-basic service level to the hefty tune of $1 - $2 per subscriber, per month. Even with market exclusivity and considerable studio marketing muscle on the table, though, we doubt there will be much traction among MSOs at this price point; and honestly, we'd hate to see the content chopped up with ads, um, ad nauseum. Worst of all, though, is that we imagine HD could be one of the first items to get the axe if this service is a digital-basic offering. Don't get us wrong -- we're not looking to spend more money every month -- but we are willing to pay for a quality experience.
Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem, the DRM of the future?
We've heard this about this dream so many times before, DRM that will make digital media as easy to use and as consumer friendly as a physical medium like DVD. We'd normally be quick to disregard this as yet another DRM "ecosystem" for digital media, but the list of players backing the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (or DECE) has us taking notice. As impossible as this seems, if anyone could make it happen, it'd be a group composed of: Best Buy, Cisco, Comcast, Fox, HP, Intel, Lions Gate, Microsoft, NBC Universal, Paramount Pictures, Philips, Sony, Toshiba, VeriSign, and Warner Bros -- yes, we also find it hard to believe that all these companies are working together. We'll have to wait until January at CES for the ins and outs of how this would actually work, but we do know it'll be based around a "rights locker" which will amount to a website where digital purchases will be stored -- we assume this is where VeriSign fits in. Oh, and Apple is noticeably absent from the list
Jaman adds Lionsgate to its roster
With its indie roots, online video site Jaman is a good fit for "established, but not megaplex-only" kind of studios like Lionsgate, and now the two are on best friends status. Based on the initial offerings, this looks like it could work out great for you internet video junkies out there -- titles include "Dogville," "Girl with a Pearl Earring," "Gods and Monsters" and one of our all-time faves, "Reservoir Dogs." Even if the picture quality isn't Blu-ray and some titles are ad-supported, we're happy to see more content being tossed (legally) around the interwebs, so we'll be rolling up that task chair, and lending an ear to some "Reservoir Dogs."
Showtime's not worried about the new premium movie channel competition
Don't worry about Showtime, the network insists the threat of a Viacom-MGM-Paramount-Lionsgate premium movie channel is not going to hurt it, and in fact it's "in a better position as a free agent", according to VP Stu Zakim. Multichannel News has word from the corporate PR exec that only two movies ranked among the 20 top rated programs on the network in 2007, and considering the license fees the studios asked, it was better served investing in series development and marketing. We can expect fresh movies on Showtime through 2010-11, but after that it'll be up to remaining partner CBS Films to keep serving up the flicks, but for lovers of Weeds, Californication and Dexter there should be plenty more where that came from.
Viacom, Paramount, Lionsgate & MGM team up for new premium channel in '09
Hope you like your movies served fresh on-demand, as Viacom, Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM have just announced plans for a new "premium" channel launching fall 2009. Other than having access to Paramount and Paramount Vintage titles released to theaters on or after January 1, 2008, and MGM, United Artist and Lionsgate flicks released after January 1, 2009, the service plans a "robust" VOD component. According to Variety, the big loser here is Showtime, which loses access to several theaters it's depended on for content, and also faces competition for shows like Weeds and Dexter. We're sure no premium movie channel would launch in this day and age without an HD offering, so tell your provider to keep a slot open for this latest addition.
Lionsgate adds iTunes Digital Copy, starting with Rambo
Anyone enjoying the iTunes Digital Copy included on some Fox DVD / Blu-ray releases will be happy to hear Lionsgate is jumping on the bandwagon as well, starting with its releases of Rambo and The Eye. The usual requirements of an iTunes account apply, and the file should work on authorized computers, iPods, iPhones and Apple TVs. We haven't grabbed one of these discs ourselves just yet, anyone want to let us know how well your rights are being managed by Apple (and whatever happened to Managed Copy)?
Stallone, Alba on your iPod courtesy of Lionsgate
Following Fox's lead, Lionsgate is signing up to add a 'Digital Copy for iTunes' to their DVD releases. Owners of DVD's with the extra content will be able to pop them into their Mac (or PC), enter a code into iTunes and have an iPod/iPhone/Apple TV-compatible copy added to iTunes. The copy is only valid for a single iTunes library and the process does require an iTunes account. Lionsgate is kicking off the program with "The Eye," and – I feel a palpable swell of collective anticipation – "Rambo." That's right, you get a supernatural thriller... and a Stallone sequel. Your iPod has never been so happy, right? [via applegazette]
Lionsgate president expects industry to "unite behind Blu-ray" this summer
As support continues to just fall in the lap of the Blu-ray camp, Lionsgate president and co-COO has been quoted as saying that his company "expects the industry to unite behind Blu-ray by the summer." This was uttered yesterday during a spirited investor call, and was followed up by his suggestion that this so-called unification could "drive the current HD market to triple in size from $300 million in 2007 to more than $1 billion this year." He also noted that 2008 would mark the first year in which it would see "meaningful revenue in digital delivery," and mentioned that "Blu-ray revenue in January [2008] was about seven times higher than last year." Of course, all of this probably speaks more about industry trends than anything else, but it's seems safe to say that at least one bigwig at Lionsgate isn't scared to pronounce his admiration for BD.[Via Blu-ray, thanks Kiwi616]
iTunes movie rental fire gets a poke: Warner Bros, Fox, Disney, Paramount and Lionsgate all on board?
Rumors have been swirling that Apple will be offering movie rentals over iTunes for weeks now. Now it would appear that Warner Bros have joined Disney, Twentieth Century Fox, Lionsgate and Paramount in the initial launch. This, according to sources speaking anonymously to Bloomberg. The announcement is expected to be made on January 15th according to the report, presumably during Jobs' MacWorld keynote. Both new releases and older titles will rent for $3.99 for 24 hours. Bloomberg's sources also indicate that Fox may join as a supplier of movie downloads. While the details may change, an iTunes rental service announcement on Tuesday seems a near certainty given the recent multi-source, confluence of data.[Via Appleinsider]
Lionsgate, Sony readying BD-Live-enabled flicks for January
Nah, BD-Live isn't even close to where it should be, but hopefully the impending stream of BD-Live-enabled films will push the hardware vendors to get with the program. Apparently, both Lionsgate and Sony are readying web-enabled titles for January, even though "hardware that can fully playback BD-Live interactivity has not yet been confirmed." War and Saw IV should both be hitting shelves before February dawns, and while Miguel Casillas didn't elaborate on the former's interactivity, he did note that Saw IV would enable users to "share content through their Blu-ray players' web connections." Furthermore, Sony executive VP of advanced technologies Don Eklund proclaimed that internet-enabled features would "represent a major theme in the studio's 2008 Blu-ray slate." Of course, we're not going to get too riled up until we see this stuff in action, but hopefully a lot more details will be spilled at CES.
Hollywood studios voice Blu-ray, PS3 support
It seems that the movie industry is getting tired of the next-gen format war. Or the now-gen format war. Whatever you want to call it, the battle between Blu-ray and HD DVD has gone on too long, according to multiple studios. Besides this, backers of Blu-ray have a lot to say about PS3 and their upcoming plans to support the Blu-ray format, including a long overdue update allowing to audio and video tracks to run at the same time. Let's listen in.20th Century Fox's VP Steve Feldstein spoke highly of both Blu-ray and PS3, saying "PS3 is an incredible gaming platform that just happens to be a really great Blu-ray player, too ... Interestingly, there is a lot of crossover between the early adopter, the PlayStation 3 purchaser and the products that are being released early in Blu-ray's life cycle. A lot of the more male-oriented titles that we're releasing, the sales numbers indicate they're being played on PS3s."Lionsgate Home Entertainment VP Ron Schwartz added his two cents as well. "I think PS3 is going to be a gift people are going to be giving this Christmas ... The great thing about PS3 is that it's a multipurpose media device that can play in the living room without the purchase of any additional components."Even Gordon Ho of Walt Disney Studios put the studio's support squarely in the Blu. "High definition on PS3 is really pretty simple ... If you're going to hook up your PS3, take advantage of the movie capabilities." He also said that movie studios need to take the initiative to really educate consumers about Blu-ray and the PS3's ability to play them excellently. We're glad to see more studio heads coming out and voicing support. Not that the HD DVD exclusive studios wouldn't say the exact opposite, but at least there are clear voices on both sides of the fence.
Anime classic Akira hits Xbox Live next week...in HD
Microsoft scored another debut of animated content moving to HD for the Xbox Live Marketplace, as it recently announced the anime classic Akira will headline the rollout of anime from distributors FUNimation and Geneon. Despite initial growing pains with slow downloads and that too-small hard drive that's so expensive to upgrade, Lions Gate recently revealed that its movies have been rented 150,000 times on the service and called it a "promising sign" for their library and digital delivery. Along with the anime, expect content from Logo and CMT to also hit the service starting Monday, although no word on what, if any, of that will be in HD. Read - More Content Coming on Xbox LIVE Video Marketplace US [Via Joystiq] Read - Xbox Live boosts Lions Gate revenues
Lionsgate is loving the Marketplace
With today's news of CMT and Logo jumping on the XBLM wagon, Lionsgate announced the success they're having with the Marketplace. Lionsgate is reporting that their library of fifteen movies on the XBLM have been rented a total of 150,000 times, which resulted in a 50% boost for their digital revenues. This is of course great news for not only movies studios and Microsoft, but for consumers too. As more and more movie studios see how successful the XBLM can be, they'll be more willing to sign up for the service, which will ultimately give consumers more variety.We know all this Marketplace talk makes non-US residents boil with anger, but for those of you who have access to the content we ask; Are you embracing the XBLM with open arms or are you still a little leery about getting your feet wet?
Blockbuster, Best Buy doing movie downloads according to Lionsgate CEO
It ain't announced until it's announced, but the same Lionsgate CEO (Jon Feltheimer) that confirmed iTunes movie downloads was apparently on a call with analysts yesterday and divulged that his business has "nearly a dozen active agreements in place for digital delivery of our content with such major players as Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Blockbuster, Best Buy, and Wal-Mart, with more to follow." (Emphasis ours.) Not a huge surprise, being that Blockbuster is already fighting tooth and nail with Netflix, and downloads are a natural progression for Best Buy's retail services -- so unless this guy is sorely mistaken about his company's prospects, keep an eye out for Blockbuster and Best Buy to get even further into the online media game.
