King Kong spearheads global first with new download-to-own model in UK
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 In a deal between US movie giant Universal Pictures and online DVD rental firm LOVEFiLM, UK residents will be able to legally download movies to own. Until now, the only way to legally download movies in the UK has been on a short-term rental basis. The new service, which began in April, will begin by offering 35 titles initially including King Kong, but will go on to offer movies to download on the same date as they become available on DVD. The back catalog of 6,500 Universal Pictures titles is also expected to be put up for download over time. LOVEFiLM’s service will allow customers to download and keep a copy of the movie on their PC as well as a second one on a portable device carrying Windows Media Player. A third copy will be mailed as a standard DVD to the consumer. New releases will be priced at £19.99 ($35) and older films at £9.99 ($17.5). The service will be available from LOVEFiLM’s website as well as AOL. Downloads will take place using Microsoft's Digital Rights Management protection technology to prevent users from burning the files to DVD. LOVEFiLM is expected to make further deals with other major movie studios as well as smaller distributors. News of these deals will be announced in “a matter of weeks”, LOVEFiLM Marketing Director Simon Morris told MEB Journal. Another movie to download service will kick off in Germany, Austria and Switzerland in April.
A deal between Warner Bros and Arvato Mobile will see around 80 of its titles offered to consumers. The service allows consumers to download to their PCs but not to a portable device or a DVD recorder, although this possibility is expected to be offered in a
subsequent phase.
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