Better comments in this Intertainer/CCUR story version
dbusiness.com
Intertainer partners with Concurrent
May 08, 2000 03:12 PM ET
By Jayne Fried, dbusiness.com
CULVER CITY, Calif., May 8 (dbusiness.com) -- Intertainer Inc. has added another destination for its library of 50,000 hours of film and music videos.
Stock Quote
CONCURRENT COMP
CCUR 10.56 0.38 -3.43%
Results delayed 20+ minutes.
The Culver City, Calif.-based private company has signed an agreement with Concurrent Computer Corporation (NASDAQ: CCUR) to add Intertainer's broadband Entertainment-On-Demand (EOD) network to Concurrent's Video-On-Demand (VOD) system. Concurrent's VOD hardware enables the Intertainer-branded service to run on all Motorola (formerly General Instrument) and Scientific-Atlanta set-top boxes.
Intertainer's goal is to let customers instantly watch current movies and music videos with a click of a mouse on a computer, or the remote on a television set.
"Intertainer works the deals with the studios," explained Fred Allegrezza, vice president of business development for Atalnta-based Concurrent. "They get the tapes of the premiere movies when they are released in the VOD window."
A Video-On-Demand window means the time allowed for viewing to subscribers. It describes, for instance, where a film is to be shown, and for how long.
Intertainer currently has licensing agreements with Columbia TriStar Television, Disney Channel, Dreamworks SKG, ESPN, Sony Music, Twentieth Century Fox, and Warner Bros.
Once Intertainer has a deal with a studio, Concurrent is the next step for getting the product to consumers. Concurrent makes computer systems, software, and servers.
Concurrent's agreement with Intertainer covers Internet and cable television viewing. Allegrezza pointed out that while technology is available to stream first-run movies on the Internet, there is still one major bottleneck.
"Premiers of movies are not being streamed over the Internet because of security," he said, adding that studios feel more comfortable with the encrypted security on TV set-top boxes.
"It will be a few years until the security mechanisms are built into personal computers," he said.
For now, the focus is on about 5 million set-top boxes in the United States.
"We've selected Concurrent as our technology partner in part because the alliance accelerates our market entry, but mostly because it associates us with a recognizable and trusted industry brand," said Jonathan Taplin, Intertainer's president and chief executive officer.
Concurrent Computer Corporation has been in business for 30 years. Intertainer was founded in 1996.
Concurrent's stock was up 50 cents to $11.44 in midday trading Monday. The 52-week price range is $3.68 to $24.75 |
