Advanced Television

Curzon On Demand service on Freetime

May 28, 2014

By Colin Mann

UK subscription- free digital TV service Freesat is launching the Curzon Home Cinema video On Demand service on Freetime, its connected TV service. Curzon Home Cinema is Freesat’s first film On Demand and pay-per-view player.

The new player, created by Curzon Home Cinema, gives Freetime viewers the opportunity to watch the latest cinema releases on demand in the comfort of their own living room. However, unlike many other movie services, viewers only pay for the films they watch and are not charged an ongoing monthly subscription fee. Many films can be streamed for as little as £1.

Curzon Home Cinema offers a range of independent cinema, including a hand-picked selection of award-winning, critically-acclaimed films – made available, where possible, on the same day as their cinema release. These include:

  • Venus in Fur: The latest film by Oscar winning filmmaker Roman Polanski, based on David Ives’ Tony Award-winning play premièring on Curzon Home Cinema the same day as its cinema release
  • Blue is the Warmest Colour: The acclaimed drama which scooped top prize at last year’s Cannes Film Festival
  • Cannes Palme d’Or Winners Season: Following this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the Curzon team have exclusively curated a season featuring an array of past festival favourites, including Michael Haneke’s Oscar-winning Amour, Lars von Trier’s musical-melodrama Dancer in the Dark and British filmmaker Mike Leigh’s Secret and Lies

Emma Scott, Freesat’s Managing Director said th film On Demand player would enable Freesat viewers to watch some of the best independent films available, often on the day they are released in the cinema. “Freesat already offers great choice with over 200 subscription free channels and the most popular On Demand players. And now Freesat’s Freetime viewers can enjoy a brilliant selection of films including both new releases and classics, yet they only pay for what they watch. The partnership demonstrates our commitment to our viewers to provide the best choice about how, what and when to watch great entertainment,” she stated.

Phil Mordecai, Director of Curzon Home Cinema, said that Freesat was a “fantastic new partner” for Curzon which was offering its Freetime viewers an unmatched cinema at home experience utilising the very best new on demand technologies. “The launch of the exciting new Curzon Home Cinema online video service in combination with the launch of the Freesat App illustrates our unprecedented support for this growing sector.  Our curated seasons and pioneering cinema content makes Curzon and Curzon Home Cinema a clear home for any film fan,” he claimed.

The Curzon Home Cinema Player will join Freesat’s existing TV players, including BBC iPlayer, ITV Player, 4oD, Demand 5 and YouTube, plus BBC News and BBC Sport apps, and will be available on all Humax Freetime set top boxes from Wednesday 28th May and Panasonic Freetime smart TVs from June 2014.

Categories: Articles, Broadcast, Connected TV, DTH/Satellite, FTA, OTT, Premium, VOD