Optimum strikes Lovefilm deal

LONDON -- Optimum Releasing has become the latest indie distributor to strike a streaming deal with Lovefilm, the U.K.'s leading online subscription entertainment service.More than 30 first-run movies from Optimum's 2009/10 theatrical slate will be made available during their pay TV window to Lovefilm subscribers, as well as an extensive selection of library titles.This marks another step in Lovefilm's challenge to satcaster BSkyB's monopoly of the U.K. pay TV market. Lovefilm, which is owned by Amazon, previously struck similar deals with distribs Momentum and Icon.The new movies from Optimum include "The Last Exorcism," "The Ghost Writer," "The Losers," "A Prophet" and "Coco Before Chanel." The deal also includes "The Wrestler" and "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," the only two films previously broadcast on BSkyB's pay TV channels.Optimum is also offering around 60 library titles via Lovefilm, including "The Deer Hunter," "Mulholland Drive" and "The Pianist."Lovefilm, akin to Netflix in the U.S., provides a subscription service that combines DVD rental by post with online streaming to computers, Internet-enabled TVs and PlayStation 3 consoles.Typically in the U.K., new movies go to BSkyB's pay TV channels before they are made available via subscription video-on-demand services such as Lovefilm. But indie distribs, who struggle to sell their slates to BSkyB, are increasingly exploring the alternative of cutting out the BSkyB window and going direct to Lovefilm."Because so few of our films ever get licensed to Sky Movies, we have decided to shift SVOD into the pay TV window," says Robb Smith, Optimum's head of TV and new media. "Lovefilm has a demographic that's strong for independent cinema, and they can take on a greater number of our films."Most of Optimum's titles will be exclusive to Lovefilm, but some will also be available via rival SVOD service Picturebox.

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