MySpace diagonal expansion with News Corp Content
FT.com / Companies / Media & internet - News Corp to sell films online
Excerpts:
News Corp’s internet properties, including MySpace.com, are to start selling Fox films and television content on a download-to-own basis in an effort to create a foothold in this potentially huge new digital market.
The service, which will charge $19.99 for new feature films such as X-Men The Last Stand and $1.99 for TV series episodes such as 24, will be available from October to users of the News Corp-owned gaming-oriented IGN Entertainment sites, with MySpace and others to come.
Using a digital download service currently popular with online gamers, the content will be downloadable from Direct2Drive.com, and transferable to Windows Media compatible portable devices, an alternative to similar services provided by Apple for use on its video iPods.
Services such as Movielink, a joint venture formed by five studios, and Cinemanow, as well as a growing number of deals between owners of popular online video sites such as Guba.com, mean that consumers can now easily buy or rent films to watch on their computers.
MySpace has yet to prove it can develop video advertising around its user-generated content and that it can work as a platform to sell other products. The download service is expected to include non-Fox content in the future as well.
