AfterDawn: News

AOL will offer movie downloads

Internet conglomerate Time Warner Inc. has announced that AOL will begin offering movies and select television episodes for download on a paid and watch-for-free service. AOL is in direct negotiations with such studios as Twentieth Century Fox, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group to bring you direct downloadable content for prices ranging from $9.99 to $19.99.

AOL Video is touted by Time Warner to be a one-stop shop for digital video media. Launching this month, AOL Video, while providing movies for a fee, will also provide free television episodes from companies such as Viacom Inc.'s MTV, Nickelodeon and Comedy Central networks and A&E Television Networks.



Time Warner hopes this push will take AOL away from being a service that relies on it's subscriptions for revenue and into a mainstream money grabber.

Source:
Reuters

Written by: Dave Horvath @ 24 Aug 2006 12:00

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• 7 comments

• Lethal_B

  If AOL's video download service is anything as poor as it's internet service, then we are in for another disaster.
  
  Constant connection failures & problems are most likely the norm if you are an AOL Customer like me. I have no say in ISP choice, as I don't pay the bill =), but I don't recommend it.

  24.8.2006 12:24 #1

• ofolion

  Hmmm...mixed feelings...all the people who use AOL and dont have a clue about things will see it on there homepage and think "ooooooh nice i can watch Lost now" or something similar...anyone else who does know the way around will take the back door for free and download it some way or another...

  24.8.2006 13:37 #2

• boneslave

  While taking the "Backdoor" to movies can get you into trouble. I agree with the fact that AOL suxs and I would not use it even if I could watch new releases for free. :P

  24.8.2006 14:29 #3

• FredBun

  9.99 to 19.99, you gotta be kidding me, I'll gladly optain mine at the local video store for 4 bucks any day.

  25.8.2006 16:51 #4

• bertf

  Price is too high. BTW I have used AOL for more than 8 years in several different countries - my friends and relatives have other ISPs (one has been without his bargain internet connection for more than 5 weeks so far this year), but AOL's reliability including almost zero downtime makes it the best one by a country mile. When they sell the EU operations though, I will change provider.

  26.8.2006 01:23 #5

• mhelms1

  Will the AOL download "service" have a time limit for viewing. Or, does it have a provision in the download that will cause it to self-destruct after a certain number of viewings?

  26.8.2006 04:23 #6

• vudoo

  They also mentioned a FREE movie service. Does this in any way have AEM (Ads Enforcement Management) like Spiralfrog will? Well if so yet another service finally copied my idea. Hmmm I just love this.

  4.9.2006 20:54 #7