Sonic Solutions announced Friday that it is partnering with Canadian DVD rental service provider, Zip.ca (note: the latter claims that its flagship DVD's-by-mail service has a library of over 72,000 titles), on an online service that it says will provide Canadian consumers with access to high-quality digital movie downloads. The partnership will see Zip.ca launching a digital movie service, powered by Sonic's Roxio CinemaNow offering (note: Sonic acquired CinemaNow last November and subsequently added the name "Roxio" to its branding), that will offer movies and TV episodes that can be instantly downloaded on PC's. The service will also be embedded into a range of home and mobile consumer electronics devices, the companies say.
News of Sonic's new Canadian deal came just a day after it announced a partnership with Fujisoft to launch a VOD service on the Nintendo Wii (see article posted on itvt.com, June 26th). The company says that the Zip.ca deal will give it a "strong foothold" in the Canadian marketplace and allow it to offer CE device partners a "more flexible, multi-region-enabled solution." "We look forward to a strong partnership with Zip.ca and introducing Canadian consumers to the convenience, instant gratification and flexibility of digital entertainment from Roxio CinemaNow," Mark Ely, Sonic's EVP of strategy, said in a prepared statement. "Entering new markets is another part of our strategy to make anytime, anywhere access to a broad variety of premium entertainment a reality for more consumers. Zip.ca's reach and leadership in the market will help make this happen in a more timely fashion."
The companies say that they are currently working with content owners to secure rights in order to build up a library for the new service that will expand over time and that will include new releases, older titles and TV shows. They claim that the service will be the first large-scale commercial movie download service in Canada. Zip.ca says that it is currently exploring a number of business models for the new service, including a la carte rentals and purchases, as well as subscriptions.
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