MovieBeam Offers First HDTV Online Movie Rentals

A video-on-demand movie service spun out of Walt Disney Co. will introduce the first online delivery service of high-definition films to U.S. homes on Tuesday.

With top Hollywood and Silicon Valley partners, Burbank-California based MovieBeam said it plans to offer first-run films from six of the seven film studios in standard digital-video format and high-definition films from Disney and Warner Bros. studios.

The video-on-demand service is aimed at heavy movie renters and initially will be offered in 29 U.S. cities, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, at prices competitive with renting the same movie at video retailer Blockbuster Inc..

Reuters - MovieBeam offers first HDTV online movie rentals

A Disney-led venture that was written off for dead as recently as last year will make Disney high-definition movies available to subscribers the same day DVDs are released. Historically, studios have staggered the dates for theatrical, DVD and television releases in an effort to make the most money off each film. In making its films available on the same day as their DVD release, Disney will effectively collapse this traditional release window.

TheStreet - Disney Venture Rolls the Video

The Walt Disney Company, Cisco Systems and Intel Corporation Invest in MovieBeam, Inc. – New Digital Entertainment Venture Launches with $48.5 Million in Series A Financing

The Walt Disney Company, Cisco Systems and Intel Corporation, through its investment arm Intel Capital, today announced they have invested in MovieBeam, Inc., a newly formed digital entertainment venture. The series A financing round, worth a total of $48.5 million, includes additional investment from tier-one venture capital firms the Mayfield Fund, Norwest Venture Partners and VantagePoint Venture Partners.

MovieBeam is poised to dramatically improve consumers’ movie-rental experience with its movies-on-demand service that debuts today across most major metro areas in the U.S.. MovieBeam’s unique mix of breakthrough content rights, technology, relationships and assets combined with the expected continued growth in the popularity of consumer electronics devices and alternative content distribution channels is compelling to the new investors.

Intel - Press Release