BitTorrent, Wal-Mart To Open Online Video Stores
BitTorrent forged deals to sell movies from major Hollywood studios Paramount Pictures, Lionsgate and Twentieth Century Fox Film, as well as TV shows from MTV Networks, starting February--while retail giant Wal-Mart has begun testing digital downloads by offering customers who bought DVDs of "Superman Returns" a downloadable version for an extra few dollars more ($2 for download to portable device, $3 to PC).
The video stores from Wal-Mart and BitTorrent will compete with a host of other relatively new downloadable movie sites. Since August, companies including Apple Computer, AOL, and Amazon have started selling downloads of movies from a variety of studios. Microsoft, meanwhile, started selling film downloads, but only via its Xbox 360 console.
The wide array of alternatives has left consumers with numerous options for video downloads, but average Web users haven't started purchasing the downloads, says eMarketer senior analyst James Belcher. In fact, he says, the very multitude of choices is causing confusion.
"It's a hodgepodge right now," he said. "There's nothing where you go, 'Oh, this is easy. I don't have to think about this.'"
Currently, different sites offer varying titles, and at diverse prices--ranging from around $8 a movie to $20. In many cases, purchasing a download appears to be at least as expensive as purchasing a DVD would be--and not as convenient.
"Why should you have to pay as much or more for a digital download as something you get from Wal-Mart?" Belcher asks, adding that digital distribution saves studios the cost of packaging and transportation.
In addition, some services--like Apple's--don't allow users to transfer their movies to DVDs, which forces them to watch on their computer screens. Until that changes, he says, only the "really aggressive early adopters" will purchase online downloads.
"As it stands now," Belcher says, "it's just not appealing."
Recent Online Media Daily Articles
-
Yahoo Search Experiments With New Look May 23, 6:30 p.m.
Yahoo Search has been experimenting with colors, features and layouts, as the company tries to determine ... -
Path Seeks Dismissal Of Wireless-Spam Case May 23, 5:07 p.m.
Mobile social network Path is asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that the ... -
Amazon Appstore Goes Global May 23, 4:59 p.m.
Amazon may have been late to the app store game, but that hasn’t stopped it from ... -
Data Is Springboard For Product Development May 23, 4:44 p.m.
iProspect named Ben Wood to global president Thursday; he's tasked with growing the company's network and ... -
Vice, Twitter Partner For Mobile Show May 23, 2:14 p.m.
Simultaneously expanding its video and social strategy, Vice on Thursday unveiled #dailyvice -- a daily show ... -
MediaVest Database Charts Brand Experience, Social Media Impact May 23, 12:11 p.m.
After a year-long research effort, Publicis Groupe’s MediaVest has created a massive database designed to help ... -
Discovery Launches TestTube.com, Ups Digital Video Involvement May 23, 11:27 a.m.
Discovery Communications is looking to get into digital video platforms in a big way -- launching ... -
Network Advertising Initiative Proposes New Mobile Privacy Rules May 22, 9:03 p.m.
Moving forward with its plan to issue mobile privacy rules, the self-regulatory group Network Advertising Initiative ... -
Entertainment, Travel Bet On Mobile Banners May 22, 4:16 p.m.
Banner ads have long been the whipping boy of online advertising, and the same is now ... -
Marketers Should Tailor Specific Pitches To Tablet, Smartphone May 22, 2:51 p.m.
Don’t lump tablets in with mobile. That’s the takeaway of a new Forrester study looking at ...
Be the first to comment on "BitTorrent, Wal-Mart To Open Online Video Stores"
Leave a Comment