Thursday, November 30, 2006

Video Downloads from BitTorrent, Wal-Mart

BitTorrent and Wal-Mart both are going to sell movie downloads. BitTorrent features material from Hollywood studios Paramount Pictures, Lionsgate and Twentieth Century Fox Film, as well as TV shows from MTV Networks starting in February. Wal-Mart for its part has begun testing digital downloads. To avoid cannibalizing its DVD sales, Wal-Mart offers the download for a few extra dollars to customers who have bought a DVD copy of the same movie.

It's getting to be a crowded space. Since August, companies including Apple Computer, AOL, and Amazon have started selling downloads of movies from a variety of studios. Microsoft, meanwhile, started selling film downloads on its Xbox 360 console.

Download pricing hasn't standardized yet. Prices range from $8 to $20 per movie. In many cases, purchasing a download is just as expensive--or more expensive--than purchasing a DVD would be. A download is arguably far less convenient as well. All of which is to be expected for a channel in its infancy.

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