Curzon launches VOD service
December 8, 2010
Curzon Artificial Eye (CAE), owner of the UK’s Curzon art house cinema chain, is preparing to launch its new on-demand service which it hopes will boost audiences and help tackle digital piracy.
The service goes live on December 10th with the debut on Iraq war film “In Our Name” The film will be streamed in HD-quality picture and sound for people to watch on their TV, computer or mobile phone. Available to watch for £8, and for seven days after purchase, it will be a third cheaper than the cost of a peak-time cinema ticket at London’s Curzon Soho.
Philip Knatchbull, chief executive of CAE, said the simultaneous release would help exploit word-of-mouth and critics’ reviews that are generated by a cinema release. It will also expand the reach of the arthouse, independent and world cinema films, which lose out in multiplexes to big Hollywood blockbusters.