Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is planning on launching a movie download service in 2007, to allow PSP users to legally download a film to a PC and then to transfer a single, legal version of the film to a Sony memory stick to view on the move.
Sony is currently in talks with Amazon.com and film download sites such as Movielink and CinemaNow to back the service, which is planned to launch in early 2007. Sony is distributing a 4Gb memory stick capable of storing up to 10 feature films.
The PSP service will of course not be compatible with Apple’s iTunes store, currently the dominant legal film download platform.
However, it should also be pointed out that only Disney has so far made its films available on iTunes. Other major studios have been less forthcoming, due to the fact that an unlimited numbers of iPods can download copies of films that have been legally purchased on iTunes and then downloaded to a PC.
Sony boasts a healthy catalogue from its acquisitions of Columbia Tri-Star, MGM and United Artists. Films such as the full James Bond set, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Kill Bill (yeah, great) and – of course - Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, The - The Cat's Family and Friends should be available.
Mike Goodman, a digital entertainment programme manager research firm the Yankee Group, is quoted in the Financial Times yesterday saying that the service would “open the [video download] market up” for Sony - an industry forecast to grow at an exponential rate during the next five years.
The FT goes on to report that, “Global revenue from online video sales will be $298m this year,” and that the market is set “to grow to $1.5bn in annual revenues by the end of 2007 and to $5.9bn by 2010.”
Sony’s move follows Microsoft’s recently launched online TV and movie rental service on Xbox Live Marketplace – though that service is only available in North America to date, with a European launch date still expected to be announced soon.
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