CinemaNow Japan in licensing deal with Warner Bros

Televisionpoint.com Team
CinemaNow Japan Inc., a joint venture between CinemaNow Inc., Tokyo-based Transcosmos and Microsoft, today announced a licensing agreement with Warner Bros. International Television to make movies available for download via its Web site on a pay-per-view and subscription basis. CinemaNow Japan is the first online service to offer movies from a major Hollywood studio to the Japanese market via an online subscription.

"This groundbreaking agreement is a great accomplishment for CinemaNow Japan and will deliver a first-of-its-kind service to the burgeoning Japanese market," said Curt Marvis, CEO of CinemaNow and chairman of CinemaNow Japan. "It marks another major step forward in CinemaNow's mission to build a truly global distribution network that reaches localized markets."

As part of the agreement, Warner Bros. International Television will offer hit titles like "Ocean's Twelve" and "Constantine," as well as library titles ranging from "Rebel Without a Cause" to the original "Batman" movie. These titles will be available via CinemaNow Japan's unique subscription service, which offers any user with a broadband Internet connection the ability to download films on an unlimited basis and watch them anytime, anywhere, for as long as they are a subscriber.

"Leveraging CinemaNow's unmatched operational experience, technical expertise, and growing content portfolio, CinemaNow Japan was able to quickly establish itself as a leading online video-on-demand service," said Toshiyuki Tomii, president of CinemaNow Japan. "With the addition of Warner Bros. International Televisions content, CinemaNow Japan will offer its broadband users a high-quality, easy-to-use, on-demand entertainment experience that is unmatched in the marketplace."

CinemaNow Japan's new monthly subscription option will also offer access to hundreds of videos in total for only 1,480 Yen ($12). In addition, users can choose to download and watch any of the videos on a pay-per-view basis for as low as 250 Yen ($2) per film for 48 hours access.

The agreement was negotiated on behalf of CinemaNow Japan by Bruce Eisen, president of CinemaNow.