Movielink Offers Internet VOD Model for Telcos

Broadband video on-demand is here today, said Jim Ramo, CEO of Movielink, speaking at USTA Telecom 03. Movielink, which is backed by five of the top Hollywood studios, offers hundreds of films in either Windows Media or Real format. Over a 1.5 Mbps broadband connections, downloading a feature-length film takes about 30 minutes, although a new "Movies in Minutes" feature allows viewing to begin after only a few minutes of streaming the content into a cache. Ramo said the big Hollywood studios are backing Movielink in order to drive digital rights management (DRM) into the market and avoid being burned by piracy like the music business experienced. So far, Movielink's DRM tools have withstood code-breaking hackers. What does the Movielink model offer broadband network providers? By partnering with Movielink, telcos get a customer acquisition tool and an important means to make their DSL service stickier, said Ramos. Since the downloading experience is better at higher speeds, they also get a way to upsell DSL users to bigger bandwidth. Heavy users of Movielink are viewing on average four films per month, and Movielink partners can get a split of this revenue. But for Movielink to be truly successful, Ramo acknowledges that content needs to delivered to the TV, not the PC. The phone company can provide the expertise to interconnect devices within the home and link them to the broadband service. Once that happens, Internet delivery can compete head to head with cable and satellite. Movielink is partnering with BellSouth on a co-branded VOD offering.
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