media day

ARTICLE FROM TODAYS EDITION

ReelTime deal with IceTV

Digital film download company ReelTime has signed a deal with IceTV to provide film, TV and game content over IceTV’s electronic program guide.
The new system will allow IceTV subscribers to browse
through ReelTime’s catalogue to download content to a home media centre set top box or PC. ReelTime managing director John Karantzis said the deal was part of the company’s strategy of finding more partners for wholesale and white label downloadable content.
“What this is about is strengthening our existing
relationship with IceTV. This new agreement means IceTV subscribers will have direct access to our content,” he said.
Karantzis said that on top of a recent distribution deal with movie retailer Ezy DVD, the company was back on track to attain profitability.
“Ultimately IceTV is part of the equation, Ezy DVD is the
other part... it’s all consistent with the strategy, I guess you could say we were wandering the woods for a while” said Karantzis, describing the recent deals as the “best way forward.
ReelTime is currently in discussions with several other
companies to offer its downloadable content, but refuses to say whether it has an interest with Network 7’s slated release of popular US device TiVo.
Karantzis told CommsDay “I can neither confirm nor deny” that ReelTime is working to have a presence on the device, saying only that “we have an existing relationship with them through Yahoo!7.”
He did say that TiVo could provide an opportunity for the company, saying “It’s got a very limited amount of content, even in the US,” which could offer a platform for ReelTime downloads.
“I think given that we’re a content provider we certainly
want to be on as many DRM (digital rights management) platforms as possible,” he said. “The overall IceTV proposition is very strong,” he said.
“In terms of the key driver with IceTV... it’s an all in one home entertainment package, and that has mass appeal.”
“Access to a host of content is something that we have
wanted to offer our subscribers for some time now,” said IceTV GM Matt Kossatz. “This deal (with ReelTime) will not only make it a reality, it will also mean that by using our existing IceTV interactive technology, consumers will be able to purchase or rent content via our website and then elect to have it automatically sent to their compatible device at home.”
Luke Coleman – Communications Day