Sonic Solutions and Zip.ca announced a partnership to provide Canadian
consumers access to high-quality digital movie downloads. As part of the
alliance, Zip.ca will introduce a digital movie service powered by Roxio
CinemaNow, offering movies and TV episodes that can be instantly downloaded
and enjoyed on PCs. In addition, the service will be embedded in consumer
electronics (CE), enabling consumers to stream premium video entertainment
directly to a range of home and mobile devices.
The partnership and introduction of digital movie delivery enhances the
Zip.ca subscription service, which currently offers Canadians access to over
72,000 DVD titles via mail. It will also mark an important expansion for Roxio
CinemaNow, which will gain a strong foothold in the Canadian marketplace and
the ability to offer CE device partners a more flexible, multi-region enabled
solution.
“Our collaboration with Sonic will allow Zip.ca to provide subscribers a
new, flexible way to digitally access high quality entertainment in addition
to the full catalog we currently offer by mail,” said Curt Millar, CEO,
Zip.ca. “We are already Canada’s leading DVD rental service; now we hope to
fuel membership and growth by becoming consumers’ destination for seamless
digital movie access – a one-stop Entertainment shop.”
The companies are currently collaborating with content owners to build an
entertainment library that will expand over time and include new releases,
catalog movies and TV shows. This will result in the first large-scale
commercial movie download service in Canada. Zip.ca is exploring a number of
models for its digital service including al a carte rentals and purchases as
well as subscription-based options.
“We look forward to a strong partnership with Zip.ca and introducing
Canadian consumers to the convenience, instant gratification and flexibility
of digital entertainment from Roxio CinemaNow,” said Mark Ely, executive vice
president of strategy, Sonic Solutions. “Entering new markets is another part
of our strategy to make anytime, anywhere access to a broad variety of premium
entertainment a reality for more consumers. Zip.ca’s reach and leadership in
the market will help make this happen in a more timely fashion.”
Roxio CinemaNow offers a massive selection of premium video entertainment
for rental or purchase, including new films from major Hollywood studios often
on the same day the DVD is available in stores. CinemaNow’s cloud-based media
services power devices from multiple manufacturers, forming a connected
ecosystem that consumers can use to seamlessly choose, move and view video
entertainment. The CinemaNow ecosystem includes PCs, connected TVs, set top
DVRs, Blu-ray Disc and mobile media players from leading manufacturers such as
Archos, Dell, HP, LG, Microsoft, Pioneer and TiVo. As well as being available
on a range of consumer electronics, Roxio CinemaNow is currently powering
internet movie delivery for Blockbuster and is instantly accessible through
Bestbuy.com.
