Entertainment retailer HMV Group has today entered into the video-on-demand (VOD) market with the launch of the new hmvondemand.com site.
In partnership with VOD specialist Filmflex, the trader will be offering films from all of the major Hollywood studios to rent via the website, with most releases to become available on the same day as their DVD release date.
Titles initially available on the site include Cars 2, X-Men: First Class and Bad Teacher, with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 and The Hangover Part 2 to follow in the next few weeks, with the soft-launch period allowing customers to rent the films via the web to watch both on and offline.
At present, the service is being promoted just to the two million existing purehmv reward scheme participants but a full launch with advertising across all of the retailers operations will commence in January 2012.
Mark Hodgkinson, HMV Marketing & Ecommerce Director, said: “We‘re excited to be working with FilmFlex to launch hmvon-demand and offer our loyal and significant customer base a best-in-class movies-on-demand service.
“As an entertainment brand built on specialist choice our remit has always been to enable people to discover and enjoy content however and whenever they want. With a growing number of consumers now incorporating video-on-demand into their viewing and purchasing habits, the time is right to include a digital service into our own offer.”
HMV hopes to be able to add extra viewing options to the service, including download-to-own and a cloud-based locker system, in due course.
Filmflex, the largest provider for VOD rental service outside the UK which is part owned by Sony and Walt Disney, will manage all digital rights & security issues on behalf of HMV and will also be responsible for the website build and platform operation.
Jeff Henry, CEO of Filmflex, added: “Our deal with HMV illustrates perfectly the benefit of combining their well-known brand and high traffic volumes with our own expertise in technology and content.
“This partnership is another indication why FilmFlex is the best movies-on-demand white-label service for any major media, retail or publishing brand in the UK who wants to monetize their traffic.”
