Starz puts video downloads on Amazon Unbox, Xbox Live

By Ned Randolph -- Video Business, 9/19/2007

SEPT. 19 | Starz Media announced two deals to expand its online presence by distributing movies and digital content through Amazon Unbox's video download service and Xbox 360 Live Marketplace.

Starz, which includes the entertainment brands Film Roman, Anchor Bay Entertainment and Manga Entertainment, will make available some 400 titles through Amazon Unbox, which is gearing up to compete directly against Apple iTunes.

Amazon Unbox, which recently stole away from iTunes the NBC TV fall lineup, allows customers to download movies and TV shows onto their PC or TiVo digital video recorders. Limitations in the service, however, do not allow users to watch content until it's completely downloaded, which can take more than an hour.

Starz titles available on Unbox will include such anime movies as Ghost in the Shell, Ninja Scroll and Blood: The Last Vampire; horror classics The Evil Dead and The Hills Have Eyes; and animated comic superhero movies, including Hellboy Animated: Sword of Storms.

A limited release of Manga titles will be made available via the Xbox Live Marketplace. Owners of Xbox 360 consoles will be able to download episodes from the popular Ghost in the Shell franchise, which helped inspire major feature films, including The Matrix trilogy. Other titles rolling out during the next two weeks will include Street Fighter II V, Noein, Tokko, Virus and Astro Boy.

In the past few months, Starz has signed content deals to reach new distribution channels, including: Azureus’ Vuze service, BitTorrent, Guba, IGN’s Direct2Drive, Netflix and Starz’s own Vongo.

“These deals represent our company’s commitment to expansion in the growing digital media world,” said Marc DeBevoise, Starz Media’s senior VP of business development and strategy.

Separately, indie ThinkFilm said earlier this week that it has begun making its films available for purchase through CinemaNow, including The Aristocrats, Candy, The King, Farce of the Penguins and Born Into Brothels. ThinkFilm also distributes downloads through Movielink, BitTorrent and iTunes.

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