Netflix has hired former Playtone exec Peter Friedlander ready for a move into original programming.. Netflix announced its first original series will be political drama House of Cards starring Kevin Spacey when it outbid broadcasters for the rights. Playtone is the production company run by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman
Google’s film rental service for Android has gone live in the UK, with users now able to rent films from the Android Market. Over 1,000 movies are available at launch through the Video app with prices starting from £2.49 (€2.9) per film. Users can watch a rented any time within 30 days of purchase, with […]
Apple Airplay subscribers can now watch BBC content on their TVs via Apple’s set-top box. The international version of the iPlayer has been available exclusively on iPad tablets since its launch earlier this year. Matthew Littleford, general manager for the global iPlayer, said it was “constantly looking” for ways to develop and evolve the global […]
UK-based digital activist body the Open Rights Group (ORG) has released research on the availability of film online, which it suggests indicates a dysfunctional market place that leaves consumers with the digital equivalent of empty shelves. The findings showed: – Excluding iTunes, only 27 per cent of the BAFTA Best Film award-winning films from 1960 […]
Universal Pictures is extending its Facebook “Social Cinema” experience internationally by offering the first “Johnny English” film for rent in the UK and Australia, as well as the US. This marks the first time Universal has offered its Facebook Social Cinema application to international consumers. Johnny English will be available for 30 Facebook Credits for […]
Forty-four per cent of TV households in the United States have at least one Digital Video Recorder (DVR), and one-third of DVR households have more than one DVR -representing 14 per cent of all households having multiple DVRs according to recent consumer research from Leichtman Research Group (LRG). In 2005, just 8 per cent of […]
Netflix has re-run the numbers comparing video-streaming performance across 13 US broadband providers – breaking out Verizon and AT&T’s fiber-based services from DSL – and found that FiOS Internet clearly beats cable. Verizon’s FiOS Internet delivered 2.5 Megabits per second over a 60-day period, ending September 25th , according to Netflix’s measurements. The video-subscription company […]
The BBC has revealed in a blog post that tablet devices now account for half as much usage of the iPlayer service as Freesat, Freeview, BT Vision, Virgin TiVo and Blu-ray combined (3 per cent vs 6 per cent). The iPlayer received 153 million requests for TV and radio programmes in September, with Tablet requests […]
Time Warner Cable (TWC) is to offer its digital customers two new films the same day as their theatrical release, and a third before its theatrical release. The first – Trespass – was made available October 14, while the second – Marginal Call – will become available the same day as its theatrical release, […]
Following staunch opposition from cinema owners, Universal Pictures has abandoned its plan to make its movie “Tower Heist” available to consumers via VoD just three weeks after it opens in cinemas. “Universal Pictures today announced that in response to a request from theatre owners, it has decided to delay its planned premium home video on […]