Originally published July 20 2005
Intel and Revelations Entertainment form a new venture aimed at distributing first-run movies online
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A new company, ClickStar, views the internet as a possible ally in getting movies distributed in a cheap and timely manner. Running counter to the Hollywood imperative to stop the online market for films, this new company plans to release movies online while they are still in theaters.
The new company, called ClickStar, is taking on an unfamiliar and potentially controversial role in Hollywood circles that have viewed online distribution as a potentially destabilizing force on DVD sales.
Most online movie ventures, such as Movielink and CinemaNow, are allowed to distribute films only after they have been in home video circulation for up to several months.
However, Intel and Revelations said that consumers have shown they want to download films earlier and that traditional DVD releases aren't meeting that demand.
"Our view is that making content available on the Internet is not an option--it is an imperative for the industry, given piracy and consumer demands for flexibility," said ClickStar's new chief executive officer, Nizar Allibhoy, a former Sony Pictures executive.
The move highlights the growing role that Internet movie distribution is likely to play in the wake of successes such as Apple Computer's iTunes in the music business.
Box-office revenues are down, even as overall Hollywood profits have remained buoyed by DVD sales.
That sales growth may finally be slowing, with relatively anemic sales of recent films including "Shrek 2" and "The Incredibles," however.
Meanwhile, the speed of many broadband connections has reached the point where it is feasible to download or stream a near-DVD quality movie to the home.
A new generation of Wi-Fi home networking technology expected to hit the market later this year will make streaming movies from a PC to a television more practical.
The model home is designed to educate studio executives about the promise of the technology.
The venture is not yet announcing any studio content that will be available through the service, but participants said other studios have been receptive to the idea in early discussions.
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