Cue Entertainment
February 14th 2007
Arts Alliance builds Empire download offer
Digital content platform provider Arts Alliance Media has announced that Vizumi, its network video on demand service, is powering three new content download sites for Emap Performance, the consumer-facing digital division of magazine publisher Emap Plc.
The IPTV (internet protocol TV) content will be available on laptops and PCs via the internet and will use Emap’s powerful brands - Empire for movies, Motorcycle News (MCN) for bikes and Today’s Golfer for golf - to drive traffic to the sites. At launch, 350 hours of content will be available to download across the three sites, with more being added.
Offering movie downloads to rent and own, www.empiremoviedownloads.com will feature a wide range of Empire’s 4-and 5-star rated movies, such as “Superman Returns”, “Taxi Driver”, “Ocean's 11”, “The Matrix”, “King Kong”, “Harry Potter”, “The Bourne Supremacy” and “The Da Vinci Code”. Prices range from £2.99 for rental to £5.99 to buy.
The MCN site, www.mcnbikedownloads.com will feature big races, stunts and documentaries including “Champion Sheene” — the ultimate record of a true biking superstar’s career.
Tournament quality and armchair golfers alike will be able to perfect their golf swing from the comfort of their own home by logging on to www.TGgolfdownloads.com to access great tips from the likes of David Leadbetter or The British Open from 1970 – 2006.
Key features will allow users to watch via laptops or PCs and will include the ability to pause and rewind content as well as the ability to send content to different designated PCs. This would allow a user to use their office PC to download content to their home PC ready to view when they got home. Content can also be viewed on a TV, providing the users have their TV networked to their PC.
“We’re very excited to partner with such a forward-thinking company as Emap. The audiences of Empire, MCN and Today’s Golfer are a perfect match for the content Vizumi carries, and we’re delighted to be able to deliver it straight to them,” said AAM President Mark Livingstone.
Emap Performance said it is already looking at other genres of specialist content and sees this IPTV initiative as consistent with Emap plc’s plan to accelerate its digital reach and capability.
“We believe the future, from both consumer and content creator perspective, is about 360-degree platform commissioning, that is, creating content which can be used across magazines, TV, IPTV and mobile,” said Dharmash Mistry, MD of Emap Performance and ECM. “The launch of branded VoD in film, golf and motorbikes available on the web is an example of video content being created for multiple platforms.”
The move follows the recently announced exclusive deal to provide Emap-branded music video-on-demand services and programming for BT Vision, BT’s TV-via-broadband service, which launched in December.
Branded ‘The Hits on Demand’, it allows users to be guided by Emap’s leading brands — Q, Kerrang!, Mojo, FHM, Smash Hits, Kiss, The Box and Magic— to access the music of their choice.
Steve Buckley, Emap Performance Head of TV Ventures, said: “This VoD initiative will showcase the power of Emap brands to identify and retail specialised content, from cult movies to rare motorcycle footage and interactive golf tuition, as well as the more obvious blockbusters.”