This article discusses Hollywood's most recent attempt to combat the issues of digital piracy and a fading DVD market. The movie industry is recruiting Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to help attract users to its struggling online video-library service.
The plan is for Wal-Mart to provide an in-store service that will assist customers in registering DVDs they already own with the movie industry's UltraViolet system. The Ultraviolet system is a "digital proof of purchase" system that allows consumers to store movie or TV titles in a free online personal library. Every video that is added to the UltraViolet account can then be streamed over the Web or downloaded for viewing on a computer, TV, or a range of mobile devices by anyone on that account.
By using this system, the movie industry hopes it can encourage consumers to pay for content they might be tempted to download illegally.
Although UltraViolet accounts are free to set up, the process can be troublesome. So Wal-Mart employees will help customers create the accounts, check the DVDs that customers already own and add them to their accounts for a small fee.
Wal-Mart's service will include several thousand movies, drawn from every major studio (Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Brothers Entertainment, Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures, News Corp.'s Twentieth Century Fox, Comcast Corp.'s Universal Pictures and Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures) except Walt Disney Co.
An announcement will be made in early March followed by a $30 million marketing campaign.
A Wal-Mart partnership is attractive to Ultra-Violet group not only because the stores are visited 140 million times a week but also due to the retailer's popular Vudu streaming service. The service is the third most popular film rental and download service, according to researcher IHS Inc.
However, UltraViolet's service aquired a bad reputation early on because of glitch prone technology and limited selection cof titles. I think Wal-Marts good reputation from its popular Vudu streaming service and its vast amount of customers will help repair UltraViolet's negative image.
I think this plan to decrease digital piracy and counterbalance the slumping DVD sales is very creative. It gives consumers the feel of downloading and sharing movies with each other without the consequences of illegal digital piracy. Although, there is a small fee I think it's worth it.
Although UltraViolet has been unsuccessful at offsetting decreasing DVD sales, I think its partnership with Wal-Mart will increase its subscriber base and therefore increase its selection of titles. As long as the service is affordable and Wal-Mart helps by making the account set up easier, I think the campaign will be a success.
For more information about the article go to http://global.factiva.com.libproxy.txstate.edu/ga/default.aspx?imt=2&ao=14&aod=1811683
1 comment:
I don't see how this will keep the DVD industry alive if everyone just shares what they have on a cloud. Yeah, it may have a small fee, but it probably won't be comparable to the 20 dollars you spend on each DVD.
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