Lovefilm buys right to stream Sony Pictures content
Arthur Christmas exclusive - stitch that, Netflix
The tit-for-tat announcements from Lovefilm and Netflix continue as the arrival in the UK of the US streaming giant and the biggest threat to the Amazon-owned incumbent gets closer.
Yesterday, Netflix said it would offer subscribers BBC shows. Today, Lovefilm said it has persuaded Sony Pictures Entertainment to let it stream the studio's movies - though not until June 2012.
Among the films included in the deal: The Social Network, Salt and - appropriately perhaps - 2012.
The deal also covers Transformers and Spectacular Spider-Man cartoons, and kids flicks like The Karate Kid.
Lovefilm said it will get exclusive rights to stream Arthur Christmas.
Lovefilm's streaming service allows subscribers who have signed up for its unlimited disc rental packages to view TV and film content for free on a variety of platforms.
The service needs to ramp up the range of titles it offers as streams. Today, far more material is available on DVD and/or Blu-ray than as a stream. ®
COMMENTS
"The service needs to ramp up the range of titles it offers as streams"
Damn right, they do. I'm currently canceling my LoveFilm subscription, as I've had three DVDs in a row through the post that haven't worked correctly. Oh sure, the data side of the DVD looks fine, but look closer in the right light and you can tell that the discs have been buffed/polished up, when they should have been put through a proper re-surfacing doodah like they have in some CeX stores. I would have gone onto a stream-only account and saved some cash that way, but the number of titles available on stream compared to DVD is pretty crap, and 95% of the films/series I want to watch aren't on there.
To be honest, given the £15 cost per month, and how cheap DVD/BD box sets are these days, going back to buying will probably work out cheaper for TV stuff.
Not good news for consumers.
Having to watch Sony stuff in LoveFilm's awful quality. Fragmenting the market by preventing said content from being streamed by NetFlix.
Can't really think of anything good to say about this news.
What I want is an provider of unlimited streamed movies with good quality streams and a large range of content for a reasonable monthly fee. Lovefilm cant do any of that. Let's hope Netflix can. I may be able to give up on the superior service (cost is not the issue) of BitTorrent then.
"Also struggling to find films that are less than 5 years old."
That's the part that irritated me most. I wanted to use it to watch classics that I'd missed out on. No such luck.
"You sure your DVD isn't on its way out?"
*Twitch*
I'm guessing by that you mean DVD player. Sorry, personal bugbear. Anyhoo, unless my PS3, DVD player, laptop and desktop are all dying a death, I think it's the discs. (I'm on 3 discs + unlimited streaming, BTW.)
Someone recommended Ergo Proxy to me. It turned up, didn't make it past title select, so I asked for another. The second disc got 15 mins in and then died. Exasperated, I pulled out the Big Lebowski DVD that came in the same package, and tried that. 4 minutes in, it stuck as well. Went around and tried every player I have - same results. Screw this.
