ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – For $9.99 a month, U.S. consumers will be able to take 1,000 movies with them – wherever they want to go.
U.S. pay TV provider Starz Entertainment Group (SEG) today announced the premiere of Vongo, a new video download application and service that delivers movies and other video content over the Internet (broadband required, of course) for playback on Windows-based PCs, laptops, and select portable media devices, as well as on a TV.
But, like nearly all other portable video applications announced lately (including those for iPods and PSPs), only those in the U.S. can take advantage.
"Vongo will provide the key content application that will drive a new era in portable video delivered over the Internet," said Robert B. Clasen, Starz’s president and CEO, in a release. "By combining the wide array of programming choices on Vongo with a host of new portable media devices being announced this week at the Consumer Electronics Show, consumers will be able to seize control of their video and watch whatever, wherever and whenever they want."
Vongo subscribers will have unlimited access to more than 1,000 movies and video selections, as well as a live, streaming Starz TV channel, for a monthly cost of US$9.99. Members may download movie and video selections to three eligible devices of their choice per account, allowing for multiple viewing options and family enjoyment. Additionally, some popular pay-per-view titles will be available for US$3.99 per movie.
Starz also announced the first in a series of planned agreements that will extend Vongo’s reach as the premier broadband entertainment service for consumers. Initial partners include Sony CONNECT and Microsoft. Sony CONNECT will make Vongo a cornerstone of its new CONNECT Video service, to be launched later this year. SEG worked with Microsoft to ensure that subscription video content from Vongo provides the highest-quality viewing experience on Windows-based PCs, laptops, and select portable media devices, as well as on a TV.
"Based on the evolution of the digital entertainment space, we believe that Vongo will be the critical component in a new entertainment ecosystem; combining services, Vongo’s advanced user interface (UI) and a new generation of devices to offer consumers a truly unique offering," said Bob Greene, senior vice president, advanced services for SEG.
As one of the largest content aggregators in Hollywood, Starz has access to thousands of theatrical films including first-run hits ("Hitch," "The Aviator," "The Incredibles," "National Treasure," "Kill Bill Vol. 2," "Finding Neverland") and classics ("Pulp Fiction," "Boyz N’ The Hood," "Night of the Living Dead," "Good Will Hunting," "Hoosiers," "Dances With Wolves," "Annie Hall") for Vongo upon launch from many of Hollywood’s biggest studios.
"Liberty is excited about this new service from Starz, not only because of its potential revenue stream, but because it positions us as the content leaders in this new era of portable video and personal consumer choice,” added Greg Maffei, CEO-elect of SEG parent company Liberty Media Corporation. “This re-defines what it means to ‘go to the movies,’ because with Vongo, the movies go with you. The lessons learned in developing and launching Vongo can apply to other segments of our company and to our sister enterprises both in the US and overseas."
Clasen added: "Critical to this service are the Internet distribution rights we have acquired from our studio partners. We share with them a concern about the piracy over the Internet and so have built in a robust digital rights management system to ensure that only those who are authorized to use this service will do so. We also believe that by providing a convenient, affordable and legal way to access the best of Hollywood we will ensure that consumers will be much less likely to try to engage in video piracy."
Starz Entertainment Group offers films from leading Hollywood studios including Walt Disney Pictures, Miramax Films, Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Films, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Columbia Tri-Star, Screen Gems, Revolution Studios and others. Select recent films are available exclusively from Universal Pictures and New Line Cinema and library and classic titles are provided by a wide array of Hollywood studios. Clasen concluded, "Vongo subscribers have full access to the very best content from Hollywood’s biggest studios. Our breadth of subscription movie content is unmatched anywhere on the Internet."
Additional programming available to Vongo subscribers includes full-length music concerts ("INXS: Live Baby Live," "The Hives: Live in Las Vegas," "Prince – Sign ‘o’ the Times," "The Who: Live in Boston," "Brian Wilson: On Tour"), and Extreme Sports ("Warren Miller’s Cold Fusion," "Real Action Sports," "Ride Guide"). At launch, Vongo will offer a live, East Coast feed of the Starz TV channel in its "Watch Live Now" category, with an eye towards adding other television-based content, including series in the future.
Greene said research conducted by SEG over the past year demonstrates that an Internet service will not cannibalize existing distribution systems including cable, satellite, and telco services. "Vongo expands the pie, as approximately 70% of Starz Ticket customers were not subscribers to Starz and approximately 50% were non-premium subscribers altogether. We developed Vongo so that we could provide our existing affiliates the ability to offer great movies directly to their broadband customers. We will work with them to find ways to offer Vongo, including packaging high-speed broadband connections with Vongo to attract even more consumers to this new way of accessing and enjoying content."
He also noted that Starz Ticket, launched in 2004 with RealNetworks Inc., will continue as a service, but that the focus for Starz will be on Vongo. "Starz Ticket on Real Movies provided us with a great chance to see how the market would react to broadband delivery of video. We learned an enormous amount in a real world environment and have incorporated all those lessons into the new Vongo service."
Vongo is available in the United States in beta form beginning today at www.vongo.com.
