SIE DBS is VOD and PPV VOD (VOD-Video on Demand)
Sie Unveils Full VOD Technology on DBS
ReplayTV & Starz Encore Sign Pact for Integration Into Hard Drive/Set-tops
Subscription VOD & PPV VOD Now Possible on DBS
{Note:Gee I wonder what technology will be utilized for the "storage authorization and distribution vehicle"?}
LOS ANGELES, Carmel Group DBS 2000 Conference, March 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Starz Encore Group LLC Founder, Chairman and CEO John J. Sie said today at an industry speech in Los Angeles that Starz Encore is creating a new service allowing direct broadcast satellite (DBS) to offer video-on-demand. The service will use current DBS technology plus hard drives in set-top boxes. Starz Encore will team with ReplayTV, Inc. to create the service, giving DBS the ability to offer both subscription video-on-demand (S-VOD) for Starz Encore Super Pak subscribers and pay-per-view video-on-demand (P-VOD), which offers earlier window movies on a transactional basis.
Sie said the breakthrough announcement is part of a new letter of intent signed last week by Starz Encore and ReplayTV. The pact calls for the two companies to develop jointly the new service employing personal video recorder (PVR) devices as surrogates for digital servers as storage authorization and distribution vehicles for movie programming. Market and technology trials are expected to begin later this year. Starz Encore's parent company, Liberty Media Group (NYSE: LMGa - news, LMGb - news), is an investor in ReplayTV through Liberty Media Corporation.
S-VOD enables the impulse selection of movies for Starz Encore Super Pak subscribers for an additional, flat monthly fee. Recent agreements struck between Starz Encore and major Hollywood studios for comprehensive S-VOD rights give Starz Encore sufficient movies to deploy S-VOD with critical mass on a commercial basis.
Sie's keynote address, ``The Upcoming War for Digital Households -- Where Does DBS Stand?' was held at the Carmel Group's ``DBS 2000' conference in Los Angeles.
He said the announcement of the pact underscored how a VOD service can be deployed using two alternatives: two-way broadband or one-way with a hard drive in set-top boxes. From a strategic standpoint, he emphasized the race between DBS and cable distribution services to offer movies, both on a subscription (S-VOD) and a transactional basis (P-VOD), will be a strong determinant in the ongoing battle for market share.
``I am steadfast in my belief that in order to unlock the revenue potential of VOD, the subscription-based component must be provided in addition to the transactional component in order to overcome the hurdles that give consumers pause before buying a pay-per-view movie,' concluded Sie. ``We know that movies have immense consumer appeal when delivered through a subscription model, whether it's analog, one-way, or two-way digital technology.'
ReplayTV, Inc., based in Mountain View, Calif., is a leader in personal television technologies with the ReplayTV Service. For more information, visit the ReplayTV home page at replaytv.com or call toll free at 800-266-1301.
Starz Encore Group LLC (Starz Encore) is the largest provider of cable and satellite-delivered premium movie channels in the United States. Starz Encore owns 13 domestic channels and currently counts nearly 60 million pay units. Starz Encore offers up to 12 channels of the Starz Encore Super Pak, which comprises STARZ!, the New Encore, Action, Mystery, BET Movies, Westerns, STARZ! Family, Love Stories, True Stories, STARZ! Theater, WAM! America's Kidz Network and STARZ! Cinema. Additionally, Starz Encore also has the only low priced movie Pak for price-sensitive consumers, the Encore Movie Pak, featuring up to seven theme channels. Find programming information on the Web at www.encoremedia.com. Starz Encore is a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Group (NYSE: LMGa - news and LMGb - news).
SOURCE: Starz Encore Group LLC
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