EMAP PERFORMANCE LAUNCHES BRANDED
VIDEO ON DEMAND SERVICES
LONDON, February 13th, 2007 - Emap Performance, the consumer-facing digital division of Emap PLC, is launching three branded video-on-demand services for film, motorbike and golf enthusiasts.
Emap Performance has appointed Arts Alliance Media (AAM) to enable users to download a wide selection of films and programming ranging from major movies to bespoke golf tutorials. AAM’s video on demand network, Vizumi, will power the service on the Emap sites which launch tomorrow. (Wed Feb 14th 2007) 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.
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, as well as classics like Casablanca. The MCN site, www.mcnbikedownloads.com will feature big races, amazing 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.
Content will be a combination of titles from AAM’s roster of digital content, including content from studios such as Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros., and bespoke programming produced by Emap. This could be specially filmed tutorials, or content from the magazines brought to life with interviews and reviews by MCN or Today’s Golfer journalists.
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.
Films via www.empiremoviedownloads.com will be available to rent from £2.99 or to own from £5.99. www.TGgolfdownloads.com and www.mcnbikedownloads.com will feature content that will be rentable from £1.99. Emap Performance 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. 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.
Dharmash Mistry, MD of Emap Performance and ECM, said: “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. 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.”
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.”
Mark Livingstone, President of Arts Alliance Media, added: “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.”
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Notes To Editors:
Emap Performance is the consumer facing digital arm of Emap Consumer Media, part of Emap plc. The Performance portfolio consists of:
Emap TV: The Box, Q, Smash Hits, Kiss, Magic, Kerrang! and The Hits on Sky and cable and The Hits on Freeview; reaching over 15m 16-34 year olds
Emap Internet: a network of branded websites including: FHM.com, ZOOweekly.co.uk, Aloud.com, Q4music.com, Mojo4music.com, Kerrang.com, Empireonline.com, NWdaily.co.uk, Todaysgolfer.co.uk, totalkiss.com, magic.co.uk, maxpower.co.uk, motorcyclenews.com, closerdiets.com, Parkers.co.uk with an audience of over 7.1m unique and accounting for around 100m page impressions per month
Emap Mobile: comprising FHM, heat, Empire and Zoo, with over 170k downloads and over 60k paying subscribers. FHM mobile TV, and the recently acquired mobile UGC business Yospace.
IPTV – Emap branded music video IPTV service via BT Vision. Branded ‘The Hits on Demand’, allowing users to be guided by Emap’s world leading music brands Q, Kerrang!, Mojo, FHM, Smash Hits, Kiss, The Box and Magic.
Arts Alliance Media is Europe’s leading provider of digital film distribution services, dedicated to building a European digital network to deliver film to the cinema, to the home and between industry players. For Download-to-Rent and Download-to-Own, AAM provides ISPs, media companies and e-tailers with turn key solutions for acquiring rights and securely distributing digital video content - via the Vizumi Network - over the internet to their audiences.
AAM owned LOVEFiLM, Europe's largest online DVD rental company, until the LOVEFiLM/Video Island merger in April 2006. AAM remains the largest single shareholder of LOVEFiLM International, the merged company, and provides the technology and content for digital distribution.
For digital cinema, AAM provides end-to-end digital cinema solutions encompassing equipment selection, financing and integration, operator training, installation and support, and content management and delivery. AAM is currently rolling out the 240 screen Digital Screen Network across the UK, and is also participating in Odeon’s UK digital cinema trial, and operating a trial digital cinema network in Norway.
For more information, visit: www.artsalliancemedia.com
For further information please contact:
Maureen Corish
Emap Performance Head of Press and PR
020 7182 8545
Kate Pidgeon
Arts Alliance Media
020 7751 7512 / kate@artsalliancemedia.com