Warner Brothers Testing Movie Rental Market Via Facebook and App Store

Warner Brothers said on Tuesday that it would be making Heath Ledger's final film appearance, "The Dark Knight", available for rental via Facebook using Facebook Credits as the payment mechanism.

“This is definitely a test,” said Thomas Gewecke, president of Warner Brothers Digital Distribution, in a telephone interview. 


Warner is also testing “App Editions” for “The Dark Knight” and “Inception.” Rather than gaining access through iTunes, consumers download a free app, which then allows them to buy the movies for unlimited streaming.  “This platform allows us to experiment with an early version of what you might call a ‘connected movie’ — the ability for us to offer new extras over time as updates,” Mr. Gewecke said. “We think that is a great way to add more value to the digital ownership experience,” he added.


Of note is the fact that 23 countries do not have access to the iTunes video store, so the App Editions provides Warner with a mechanism to sell it's films in those markets which include China and Russia.


Source: NYTimes

France To Track And Punish Illegal Downloaders

French law makers have passed a lower house bill on Tuesday that would give the government of France the right to cut off the Internet access of repeat offenders in the illegal downloading battle. "Warnings to culprits would begin with two e-mails followed by a certified letter. If the piracy continues within the following year, access can be cut from two months to a year — while the user keeps paying for the service." according to this article published in the Globe and Mail. The law has its challengers however as some view it in conflict with a measure passed by the European Union a week ago, that would prohibit such measures. At the heart of the controversy is the illegal downloading of music and movies.

Backlash Against Movie's Leak Online

Logic would dictate that geeks everywhere would rejoice at the thought of an early, all be it illegal, release of an unfinished version of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” on the Internet. It seems however that movie and comic book fans as well as bloggers and some members of the BitTorrent community are encouraging each other to resist temptation and see the film in theatres. The NYTimes Bits Blog points out that "...one commentator on Releaselog, a popular blog among the file-sharing community, wrote : “i think it’s worthy of being seen the right way in the theatre. everyone should support this movie and help it get a massive take making it look like the leak actually helped it.” A commentator on SuperHeroHype, a forum geared toward comic book fans, wrote: “The workprint did nothing but make me want to see the final completed version even more.”"

I, for one, am a big fan of watching movies the way they were intended to be viewed... in the theatre!

Blockbuster Rumoured To Be On Verge Of Offering Set-Top Box - Streaming Video

The Hollywood Reporter has posted an article that claims Blockbuster is close to launching a streaming video on demand service similar to Apple TV. The company refused to comment but the Hollywood Reporter is quoting a Blockbuster spokeswoman as saying "We're talking to numerous companies and vendors about products, services, alliances and initiatives that can help us achieve our mission to transform Blockbuster into a company that provides access to media content across multiple channels -- from our stores, by mail, through kiosks, through downloading, through portable content-enabled devices-- so it's not surprising that there are rumors out there."

With all of the current options for obtaining movie content, it will be interesting to see if Blockbuster can make this service work. They've not exactly lead the way with innovative delivery methods to date.

Illegal Downloads... No More Internet For You!

A yet to be released government proposal in the UK suggests that ISPs would be required to cut service to users who access pirated content via their networks. The proposal is for a "three strikes" system where first offenses would draw a warning leading to the ultimate revoking of services after a third offense. According to the Times newspaper, a leaked draft paper states: "We will move to legislate to require internet service providers to take action on illegal file sharing." The government says the proposal has changed significantly since that report and would not comment on the contents of the leaked document. The association that represents the Internet Service Providers says "ISPs are no more able to inspect and filter every single packet passing across their network than the Post Office is able to open every envelope," It sounds like the entertainment industry giants have found some friends within government in the UK. The BBC has the story here.

MPAA Says Sorry, My Bad!

In a 2005 study commissioned by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) college and university students were blamed for 44 percent of all illegal downloading of movies. The MPAA has now admitted to "human error" in calculating those figures saying that students only account for about 15 percent of revenue loss to association members but claims the number is still significant. Mark Luker, vice president of campus IT group Educause, says "The 44 percent figure was used to show that if college campuses could somehow solve this problem on this campus, then it would make a tremendous difference in the business of the motion picture industry," and that "any solution on campus will have only a small impact on the industry itself." Perhaps the authors of the study should have spent more time studying and less time downloading when they were in school!

AP article here.