Feasibility Study of a Digital Platform for the delivery of UK ... - BFI

UK FILM COUNCIL
Strategic options
1/ Provide content to the Sky Box Office Service
The UKFC could consider providing content to the Sky Box Office nVoD service. However, with ‘shelf space’ for just 210 movies a year,
this route is unlikely to provide wide distribution for the full range of specialised content that the UKFC would wish to make available. It
would also be an unlikely fit with the blockbuster ethos of the Sky Box Office offer.
2/ Work with Sky to develop a presence on the Sky Broadband movie download service
Sky’s soon-to-launch (January 2006) Sky Movies Broadband service is expected to ultimately offer all of the movies on the Sky Movies
channels in a download format as a free bonus to Sky movies subscribers. But Sky has further plans for the service that include adding
an extensive array of library and archive content and pay tiers for access to a greatest choice of content. Sky claims it will try to replicate
the on-line DVD rental model in its range of choice, but unlike the on-line DVD market, customers will of course, always get the movies
they want rather than only the ones on a list of choices that happen to be available.
The UKFC could consider adding its content to this service and could explore provision of a branded stream within the download service
that may or may not include a subscription element. Sky Movies Broadband will allow users to download the content and keep it for 30
days. The application uses Windows Media DRM and content cannot be distributed beyond the application into which it is downloaded,
which in turn is tied to a single machine.
3/ Launch a specialised movie channel, possibly in partnership with Sky
Sky expressed interest in a stand-alone UKFC specialised film channel which could be operated either as an entirely independent entity or
in partnership with Sky. Sky estimates that the annual cost of running such a service would be less than £1m – not including any content
costs. A channel developed in this way could also be made available to other platforms in the UK, including cable operators NTL and
Telewest and Homechoice. A channel developed and retailed by Sky in joint-venture with the UKFC would not be available to Freesat
viewers due to the encryption required to place the channel in the Sky retail space. The UKFC could, however, choose to launch an
unencrypted specialised movie channel that could be made available to both Sky and to the Freesat platforms. However, it would lose the
marketing support of Sky if this latter route was taken.
Practicalities
Feasibility Study for a Digital Platform for the delivery of Independent UK films and Specialised films to the Home
UK Film Council © 2006
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