TORONTO – Astral's The Movie Network today launched streaming service The Movie Network GO (TMN GO), as well as HBO GO Canada and TMN Encore GO that altogether puts more than 1,500 hours of HD-quality programming at subscribers' fingertips.
Available at no additional cost with a subscription to The Movie Network and TMN Encore, TMN GO offers instant and unlimited access to more than 1,200 titles comprised of Hollywood hit movies, exclusive series from HBO, Cinemax and Showtime, and classics from every era. With the launch of TMN GO, subscribers can now watch what they want, when they want, where they want from their iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC says Astral. TMN GO is currently available in Eastern Canada to customers of Bell Fibe TV, Bell Satellite TV and Cogeco Cable, with Rogers launching the service in the coming weeks and additional television providers expected to join shortly.
An app for Android devices as well as for Xbox and Samsung SMART TVs are exepcted to be released within six months.
"TMN GO with HBO GO Canada and TMN Encore GO are extensions of Astral's commitment to providing Canadians with unparalleled premium content across multiple platforms," said Domenic Vivolo, senior vice-president, sales and marketing, Astral Television Networks. "TMN GO is the latest such innovation from Astral and TMN and we believe it will be a game changer for our business – providing subscribers with a value and entertainment proposition that represents the ultimate in choice, control and convenience."
With a “sleek cinematic design and interface that offers superior functionality,” TMN GO, HBO GO Canada and TMN Encore GO allow subscribers to engage with over 1,200 titles and 1,500 hours of premium content. TMN GO is supported by the iPhone 3GS and subsequent models, iPod touch (3rd and 4th generation) and the iPad and iPad Mini (running iOS 5.0 or higher). All three can all be accessed at www.tmngo.ca, or by downloading the TMN GO App from the App Store. Key features of the service include:
- Pick-up-and-play technology which allows users to start watching on one device and continue on another;
- The Watchlist function which lets users keep up with their favourite series throughout the run. Once a series is added to the Watchlist, new episodes are automatically added and the user is notified when they are available. Upcoming movie titles can also be tracked and added to the Watchlist, with reminder notices when the title is available;
- Parental controls which allow users to manage the content that family members of every age have access to;
- Social networking functionality that enables users to share and like favourite titles instantly with friends over Facebook, Twitter and email;
- Multiple members of the household can enjoy the service with up to three simultaneous streams and five registered devices per subscriber household, each with their own Watchlist;
- The ability to stream over WiFi and 3G (or above) networks. Users will be able to diminish their video quality, allowing users to manage their data consumption;
- Adaptive streaming which automatically switches video quality to ensure the best viewing experience available based on the user's Internet connection.
- Video quality control which gives users control over video quality, allowing them to further control their bandwidth consumption.
TMN GO's selection mirrors the programming offering from The Movie Network OnDemand, HBO Canada OnDemand and TMN Encore OnDemand, with new content refreshed weekly. TMN GO will also be home to new, never-before-seen bonus material and content such as an exclusive collection of four short digital HBO comedies – The Boring Life of Jacqueline, Brody Stevens: Enjoy It!, Garfunkel and Oates, and Single Long – from the likes of Zach Galifianakis and Mike White.
As for the company's TMN Online authenticated web viewing portal launched in 2009, Astral will also keep that running along side the new service and apps.
