Warner Bros.

Nov 01 2012

News - Redbox Signs Warner Bros. for Redbox Instant

By Matthew Miller

Redbox and Warner Bros.Verizon and Redbox have already indicated that they hope to launch their Redbox Instant streaming service in the next couple of months, but other than stating that they plan to focus on movies rather than TV shows, the companies have not said much about the content they plan to offer. That's beginning to change. Warner Bros. is the first major studio to sign on to provide content for the fledgling service. There is no word on exactly what kind of movies or how many movies will be made available on Redbox Instant, but the deal does include UltraViolet support for Warner Bros. titles. The companies also announced that Warner Bros. will continue to supply rental DVDs and Blu-ray discs for the Redbox kiosks, but that Redbox will continue to honor the 28 day release window. Given Redbox's displeasure with the Warner Bros. release windows, it is difficult not to interpret Redbox's continuation of a release window as a concession to get the Redbox Instant deal in place. If Redbox Instant is still on track for a November or December release, then more announcements are likely forthcoming over the next couple of weeks.

When their previous deal expired Redbox said it would find other ways to obtain discs and offer them day and date to its customers, although actually finding them in kiosks could be tough. The new two-year deal covers movies that debut after January 1st, 2013, and claims to improve economics for both Warner (which has apparently seen fit to eliminate the delay entirely for brick & mortar renters) and Redbox. 

Engadget

Jul 24 2012

News - Amazon Announces Streaming Deal with Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution

By Matthew Miller

Amazon currently boasts more than 18,000 movies and TV episodes on Prime Instant Video, but there can never be enough for a truly well-rounded service. Amazon and Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution have signed a deal to bring yet more television programming to the Prime Instant Video catalog. The deal includes shows such as Dark Blue and Rubicon, but in a more interesting twist, the deal gives Amazon exclusive access to Fringe and The West Wing for the summer. This marks the first time that Amazon has secured exclusive rights to a movie or television show for Prime Instant Video, even though it sounds like it will be a rather short-lived arrangement. I'm not a big fan of exclusive deals, but it is interesting to see Amazon flirt with being more aggressive in taking on Netflix and Hulu.

Both Fringe and The West Wing will be available exclusively on Prime Instant Video for the summer, giving Prime members and Kindle Fire customers exclusive access to favorite titles that have been previously unavailable. Prime Instant Video includes more than 18,000 movies and TV episodes available for Prime members to instantly stream and enjoy at no additional cost.

Amazon

May 10 2012

News - Warner Bros. Offering 1080p Movies on iTunes

By Matthew Miller

When Apple announced the third-generation Apple TV back in early March, the company also announced that iTunes would begin offering 1080p movies and TV shows. A number of big studios were quick to begin hawking their even more high-definition wares, but two conspicuously absent studios were Warner Bros. and Fox. Fortunately, Warner Bros. has finally decided to get on-board the 1080p bandwagon, and evidently with both feet as some big titles are already available including The Lord of the Rings and Sherlock Holmes. I know that a lot of folks aren't quite ready to give up Blu-ray in favor of digital downloads, but at least the iTunes offerings have become a bit more varied.

Warner Bros.

 Right now it seems that Warner's 1080p titles are only available in the US, and the UK and Canada are yet to offer 1080p videos at all. This will come as good news to owners of the updated Apple TV, as it broadens the range of content easily accessible from the 1080p-capable device, and films are $14.99 to buy or $3.99 to rent. 

The Verge

 

Feb 04 2012

News - Redbox to Work Around Warner Bros. Waiting Period

By Matthew Miller

Warner Bros. recently took steps to try to double the length of their DVD rental window to 56 days. Redbox, who had signed on with Warner Bros. for the original 28-day release window, has evidently grown weary of Warner Bros.'s efforts to delay DVD rentals because the kiosk-based rental company has decided not to renew their agreement with Warner Bros. and will be purchasing their Warner Bros. discs from other outlets. It will make purchasing Warner Bros. titles more expensive, but presumably the company expects to make up the difference by being able to rent titles without any delays. Given that Netflix has agreed to the 56-day rental window, Redbox will have nearly two months of nightly rental opportunities to capitalize on their advantage.

Redbox

Redbox customers will no longer have to wait 28 days after a DVD release to rent Warner Bros. movies like A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas. Redbox has allowed its deal with Warner Bros. to expire, meaning that it will no longer be directly purchasing DVDs at wholesale prices from the company.

The Verge

Nov 18 2011

News - LOVEFiLM Signs Deal With Warner Bros.

By Matthew Miller

Like Napoleonic-era generals, Netflix and LOVEFiLM are marshalling their forces and establishing their positions on the field. Over the last couple of weeks, Netflix has been kicking up the most dust preparing for their entry into the UK and Ireland next year, but now LOVEFiLM is responding by bringing Warner Bros. in on their side of the battlefield. LOVEFiLM's deal with Warner Bros. doesn't seem to focus as much on securing exclusive streaming rights like the deals that Netflix has been signing with studios, but instead seems to be geared toward leveraging the extended services and market outlets that LOVEFiLM and Warner Bros. possess in the region.

Today, the Amazon-owned streaming and rental service announced a new, multi-year partnership with the Brothers Warner, promising to deliver "wider choice and more access" to content across multiple platforms. Under the deal, users will be able to access a range of Warner Bros.' recent and forthcoming titles on their iPad, PlayStation 3, and, as of later this year, their Xbox 360, among other devices.

Engadget

Oct 27 2011

News - Warner Bros. Takes 28 Day Banhammer to Blockbuster

By Matthew Miller

About two years ago, Warner Bros. decided that declining DVD sales were the result of ubiquitous, inexpensive rentals and pushed Redbox into a 28 day delay on new movie rentals. Netflix came next, then Blockbuster Express. Blockbuster had managed avoid a similar agreement, presumably because the company's bankruptcy proceedings had made the company too weak to push into signing on. Well, congrats to Dish Network on turning Blockbuster's fortunes around. I honestly don't understand how the 28 day delay is supposed to improve DVD sales. If I was waiting to rent the DVD instead of going to the theater, am I really going to care about an extra couple of weeks when my queue is already full of movies and TV shows. Has the 28 day delay prompted you to buy more movies?

While Blockbuster has had delays at its kiosks already, being first to get new flicks in stores has been a part of its marketing for a while. The LA Times reports Blockbuster so far is turning to simply buying the copies it needs at retail to rent them out immediately, but we'll see how long that lasts. 

Engadget

Oct 11 2011

News - UltraViolet Launch Spurs Changes for Warner Bros. and HBO

By Matthew Miller

HBO Logo

We've all encountered instances where a movie, seemingly at random, becomes unavailable from the streaming service or digital storefront of our choice, only to return some time later without explanation. There are a variety of different licensing restrictions that could cause this, but one of the most common causes is special set of licensing restrictions that HBO has traditionally held that grants HBO exclusive digital rights to a movie while they are showing it on their service.

With the UltraViolet digital locker service getting ready to launch, some studios are starting to understand that they are going to have a hard time explaining to customers why they can't download their movies for months at a time. So far it's only Warner Bros. that has cut a deal to lift this particular licensing restriction, but I would expect that we will hear about more such announcements going forward.

UltraViolet hopes to make digital ownership of movies more attractive, by allowing consumers to buy a title once and access it anywhere or on any device. One of the big questions revolving around the impending launch of UltraViolet streaming video services was whether or not studios would have to deal with the rights window, during which HBO has exclusive access to those titles online. Until recently, that meant movies purchased online couldn’t be accessed while HBO had pay TV rights to that content.

GigaOm

Syndicate content

Cheap Home Theater Systems

Buy Cheap Home Theater Systems at Wholesale Price on DHgate.com.

Website design by Yammm Software
Powered by Drupal