Sonic to acquire CinemaNow, aiming to take on iTunes.
Posted by
David (aka David)
Nov 19 '08, 14:35
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Why partner when you can be the owner?
Sonic Solutions Nov. 19 said it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire movie download pioneer and business partner CinemaNow, including its 6,000 catalog of major studio movies, TV shows and music videos.
Financial terms of the deal, which is expected to close shortly, were not disclosed.
Novato, Calif.-based Sonic said it would incorporate Los Angeles-based CinemaNow into a newly created premium content group headed by Mark Ely, EVP of strategy at Sonic.
The group�s strategy is to market the CinemaNow storefront to third-party Web sites, PCs and consumer electronics devices.
Digital content distribution has evolved recently with online DVD rental service Netflix aggressively courting CE manufacturers for its burgeoning streaming service, including the new Xbox 360 Experience, which went live today.
�With broadband-connected consumer electronics hitting the market in greater numbers, there is a growing need for a service that gives consumers one-click access to premium content on any device in the digital home,� said David Cook, president and COO of CinemaNow.
Cook was previously CEO of CinemaNow.
The two companies recently collaborated on Sonic�s Qflix download-to-burn DVD drive business, including marketing its content and technology to CE and PC manufacturers such as Dell, Pioneer and Plextor, among others.
Sonic software is already a mainstay in studio DVD and Blu-ray Disc production, and its Roxio-branded technology is found in set-top boxes, in-car entertainment systems and other portable media players.
Founded in 1999, CinemaNow has digital licenses with more than 250 content providers, including EMI, HDNet, IFC, Lionsgate, MGM, Miramax, NBC Universal, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures, Sundance Channel, 20th Century Fox, Vivendi Entertainment, Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros.
In addition to download service Movielink (now owned by Blockbuster), CinemaNow was the first service to offer download-to-burn content playable on a standard DVD.
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