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

UK FILM COUNCIL
Although CinemaNow has not offered a white label service to date, it has carried out co-branding packages for companies such as MSN
and AOL. Its primary proposal would be to offer something such as this for the UK Film Council. However, the company not only sees the
value of independent and specialised content (as evidenced in its deal with the Sundance Channel), it would be prepared to offer a white
label service to this end. But a total white label service might require up front and back end fee, whereas a semi-branded service would
reduce the fee, possibly eliminating up front charges. Nevertheless, the company has gone to great pains to assert that it believes that its
online platform grants specialised film content exposure that it would likely not receive through traditional distribution channels.
One drawback of CinemaNow is the Microsoft factor and whether the UK Film Council would be prepared, politically, to irrevocably tie the
development of an independent film platform with the technology and strategies of the US software giant.
World Cinema Online
On Demand Offering
Independent production company Transmission Films has been in the process of testing and establishing an open Internet digital
download service called World Cinema Online, dealing exclusively in independent content. With the involvement of UK producer Nick
O’Hagan as head of Business Development, the service is seeking to deliver content worldwide via an advanced peer-to-peer (p2p)
network designed to keep prices low and increase the rate of download by retrieving content from a pool of users simultaneously (similar
in nature to the technical characteristics of the Sky Movies Broadband service built by IOKO/Kontiki).
The venture has received financing from NESTA, and has distribution alliances with US start-ups Akimbo (Internet-to-TV delivery) and
Blinkx (Internet video search) amongst others. Although none of these services nor their technologies have been proven, the alliances do
place World Cinema Online in a small group of companies pioneering video business models over the Internet.
Relaunched in November 2005, the platform currently offers around 30 feature and short titles for download worldwide, charging from
£1.00 for a five-day rental, and £3.99 for a download-to-own for feature films going up to £1.99 and £6.99 respectively. Like
Cinemanow, World Cinema Online has chosen to adopt the sell-through model as a unique aspect of its service, and can be more liberal
with its consumer proposition (such as five-days viewing time as opposed to 24 hours). The content is distributed in the Windows Media
environment and DRM. Its titles are predominantly budget, but there are notable exceptions, such as George Romero’s Night of the Living
Dead and Roman Polanski’s Cul-de-Sac. The service also takes direct submissions from filmmakers through its website, on a model not
dissimilar to TuneTribe.com in the music market. The website as it currently stands however frequently malfunctions and has recurring
consumer issues which if not resolved will prove to be a problem.
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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