AOLVideo.com Launches 2 Sony Channels and 5 Fox Channels Featuring Classic TV & More!

[Pavan]

- New Partnerships with 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group Bring Full-Length Movies to All-In-One Online Video Destination

- New On-Demand Channels Featuring Television Content Will Also Be Available from Fox Entertainment Group and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment



AOL, a leader in live and on-demand entertainment video programming and video search, today announced partnerships with 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Universal Pictures, and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group that will offer consumers downloadable movies through the AOL Video portal. These new partnerships complement the more than 17 video content partnerships and more than 45 on-demand channels that AOL Video announced in July. Available to anyone on the Web at http://www.aolvideo.com, the AOL Video portal is a one-stop, high-quality entertainment destination to find, watch and share millions of free streaming and pay-to-download video content from across the Web, broadcast and cable television, and movies.

"We're very excited to add digital movie downloads and additional TV content to the already wide-variety of content that we offer through the AOL Video portal," said Kevin Conroy, Executive Vice President of AOL. "As we continue to build AOL Video into the best source to find millions of free as well as pay-to-download videos, we'll continue to add more and more high quality branded content to the mix and we look forward to working even more closely with 20th Century Fox, NBC Universal, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, and Warner Bros."

"We are eager to continue to develop the market for digital downloads by applying our premium content to one of the Web's strongest brands," said Peter Levinsohn, President, Fox Digital Media. "AOL's wide usage will increase our ability to get Fox's electronically-delivered movie and TV product in front of a huge number of consumers."

"Viewing online digital content is no longer an esoteric pastime," said Benjamin S. Feingold, President of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Digital Distribution and Acquisitions. "Online programming services like AOL's video portal have the potential to become a major distribution stream for consumer entertainment and a viable revenue source for Hollywood."

"Partnering with digital powerhouse AOL further underscores NBC Universal's steadfast commitment to harnessing new opportunities and providing the most discerning consumers with legitimate and appealing options for purchasing and enjoying our content electronically," said Craig Kornblau, President, Universal Studios Home Entertainment. "This collaboration marks another important step in advancing our digital initiatives as we continue to aggressively seek out new technologies and forge critical paths in the digital arena."

"Making our movies available to consumers through AOL Video is a great fit within our overall digital distribution strategy," said Simon Kenny, President, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution. "Our goal is to provide access to our content through the widest possible selection of platforms and devices and AOL is a great partner in that effort."

Through AOL Video, popular movie titles - from recent DVD releases to a large selection of movies representing all genres - from 20th Century Fox, NBC Universal, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group will be available for purchase and download with prices ranging from $9.99 to $19.99 per movie. Once downloaded, movies can be viewed offline as well as on other PCs and compatible portable devices.

More Popular Television Content from Leading Brands

As part of AOL Video's ongoing expansion of its branded video-on-demand channel line up, television content from Fox Entertainment Group and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will be easily accessible through the AOL Video portal's online interactive programming guide (IPG). The AOL Video IPG brings together free and download-to-own video content and organizes it into more than 50 video-on-demand channels. Additional AOL Video on-demand channels will launch in the coming months.

AOL Video will feature Fox Entertainment Group content, available in the coming months, for paid download within five new on-demand channels.

* FOX - Featuring full-length episodes from current Fox television series including "24," "Prison Break," and "Bones."

* Fox Classic Television - Featuring full-length episodes from cult classic and award-winning series including "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Hill St. Blues," and many more.

* FX - Featuring the FX Network's original series "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia."

* Speed - Featuring the original series "Pinks" and "Unique Whips."

* Fuel TV- Featuring "Firsthand," which offers a glimpse into the lives of the best freestyle sports athletes from around the world.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will be programming two new on-demand channels on AOL Video, featuring free, ad-supported television content. Additional channels programmed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment are planned for the coming months.

* AXN - This action-packed channel features full-length episodes from retro classics including "Charlie's Angels," "Starsky & Hutch," and "SWAT."

* FunnyBone - Episodes from some of TV's treasured sitcoms. Includes "NewsRadio," "Who's the Boss," and "Action."

The new AOL(R) Video portal (http://www.aolvideo.com) is a one-stop online destination to find watch and share millions of the best videos from across the Web, broadcast and cable television, and entertainment including movies, music videos, news, user-generated content and full-length TV shows. AOL Video features free streaming videos as well as the ability to purchase and download full-length content that can be viewed on multiple devices and PCs, online or offline. At the center of the AOL Video portal is one of the Web's first online interactive programming guides which brings together thousands of hours of video programming and organizes it into more than 50 branded video-on-demand channels. AOL Video also features industry-leading video search powered by technology from Truveo(TM) and Singingfish(R), and a video player that can go full screen without losing picture quality and that supports AOL's exclusive Hi-Q(TM) video format to watch DVD-quality videos online.

[Pavan]

We will more details tomorrow on the blog. But a quick rundown...Fox TV related channels will be paid content. And the Sony TV related channels will be free of charge!

[vashti1999]

Originally Posted by pavanbadal

And the Sony TV related channels will be free of charge!

That's the news I wanted to hear. I just hope they show good older stuff like One Day At A Time.

[Pavan]

Hopefully! As of now, both Sony channels will just have three shows each.

[TVJunkie101]

Wow, this is AWESOME.

[EmoJoe]

WHOS THE BOSS?!?!?

w00000000000000t

[Pavan]

All the Sony shows are on DVD, so it isn't that good yet. Season one episodes thus far for each.

[puertaazul]

Did you also hear that AOL is going to be offering downloadable movies now too? I just received an article from a friend regarding the launch.

[BrownEyedGirl523]

Will it be going beyond season 1 episodes for Who's the Boss?

[Moonlight Lady]

Oh my god, that's great news! I'm looking forward to that.

[BrownEyedGirl523]

Does anyone know when they will be adding new episodes to this?