In addition to the investment, a partnership with EchoStar also means CinemaNow will have access 12 million subscribers on the Dish Network television service when EchoStar launches new set-top boxes that are connected to the Web and allow for downloading or streaming movies straight to TV sets. However, there are a lot of other companies with the same idea, getting ready to launch their services.
Although CinemaNow has had substantial investor backing for some time (Lion’s Gate and Menlo Ventures are the largest), the service has not really taken off and focus has shifted to scrappy upstarts like YouTube, and now to BitTorrent. It may be that CinemaNow has tried to do too much too early, before some of the technical hurdles of downloading full-length feature films have been overcome.
Downloading full-length films will eventually go mainstream, but three big questions remain. First, is the mainstream 12 months or 36 months down the road? Second, through which channels will people be downloading content: cable, IPTV based systems, phone lines, or satellite? And third, which companies will still be standing when the hoards arrive to download movies?
They are currently running a (affiliate link) now. Give it a try and see if CinemaNow has a chance to win the battle?
Tags: cinemanow, download, films, internet, movies, tv, video, web youtube** Download the Best Videos on the Web for your iPod - Free! **
I did not know CinemaNow was going through this investment. How long do you anticipate before they actually launch their new movie download service? I review these sites and other entertainment download sites. Is the free trial related to movie downloads only or do they offer other types of downloads too?
Regards,
Nick
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