–Will Offer "Lost," "Housewives" on-Demand via Cable, Broadband
UK commercial terrestrial broadcaster, Channel 4, has signed a deal with the Disney-ABC Group’s international TV distribution arm, Buena Vista International Television (BVITV), that gives it the exclusive UK VOD rights to the first two seasons of the Touchstone Television series, "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives" (note: the latter air on Disney-ABC’s ABC broadcast network in the US). The deal is Disney-ABC’s first in Europe for the VOD rights to its network series, and, the company says, "is in line with Disney’s focus on the application of technology to enhance its content and expand its distribution" (note: in recent weeks, Disney-ABC has launched a number of broadband TV initiatives–see article in this issue).
Starting today, Channel 4 is offering the entire first season of "Lost" on a pay-per-view basis on ntl/Telewest’s cable VOD service (note: ntl/Telewest, which claims to now be delivering over 5 million VOD streams per month, has secured the rights to offer the shows in HDTV), and on a special area of its own Web site (www.channel4.com/lost) that is limited to users from the UK (episodes are viewable on a PC, using Windows Media Player). The episodes are priced at 99p each, and can be viewed an unlimited number of times within a 24-hour period. Episodes of the second season of "Lost" will be available on Channel 4’s Web site and on ntl/Telewest’s VOD platform 14 days after their first UK linear broadcast. Under a promotion that Channel 4 is organizing, the first two episodes of the second season will be offered free of charge. Meanwhile, on-demand episodes from the second season of "Desperate Housewives" will be available starting May 4th, and episodes from the first season will be available later that month. "This is a significant step in Channel 4’s plans to launch a full video-on-demand service across multiple platforms later this year," Channel 4’s new business director, Ron Henwood, said in a prepared statement. "Partnering with Disney on these two stand-out shows illustrates the critical strategic importance of VOD to Channel 4."
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