Magnolia releases on MovieBeam

Bubble, Enron among movies in licensing deal

By Jennifer Netherby -- Video Business, 6/13/2006

JUNE 13 | Magnolia Pictures will begin offering Bubble, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room and other movies from its library through video-on-demand service MovieBeam under a new licensing deal, the companies announced today.

Magnolia films will be available on a pay-per-view basis through MovieBeam boxes in both standard definition and high definition.

MovieBeam, originally owned by the Walt Disney Company, relaunched its service earlier this year in 29 cities with a new round of investors including Cisco Systems and Intel Corp. (VB, 2-14).

Users must buy a MovieBeam set-top box for $199, to which movies are downloaded using broadcast signals. Users pay a rental fee to watch a film and have 100 movies to choose from at a time, with 10 new films added each week.

MovieBeam already offers movies from all the major studios, including Disney, which is a financial backer of the service, but MovieBeam said it wants to add more depth to its film library.

Magnolia meanwhile has been testing new release models for its films. The supplier’s Bubble was released simultaneously in theaters, on DVD and on TV earlier this year (VB, 2-3).

“Our goal is to make our movies as easily accessible as possible for film buffs, and distributing pictures via MovieBeam is a great way to do that,” Magnolia Pictures president Eamonn Bowles said. “Movies-on-demand is an extremely easy way to watch a movie, and MovieBeam delivers a high-quality experience that frequent renters greatly appreciate.”