Anime Network, an independent programmer of Japanese anime and pop culture entertainment, has launched a premium subscription video on demand service on Xfinity On Demand, now available to Comcast customers across Xfinity TV platforms.
Cinedigm has announced a partnership with leading LeEco to launch a new streaming content program as part of LeEco’s U.S. launch. Cinedigm’s over-the-top streaming channels Dove Channel and CONtv will be available to LeEco consumers on LeEco’s ecophones and ecotvs. In addition, select Cinedigm content will also be available within Live, LeEco’s innovative integrated content channel. The two companies are exploring additional partnership opportunities for channels and content both domestically and overseas.
Created by Schuyler Helford a Los Angeles-based producer, writer and comedic actress (Anger Management, The Middle), the new web series Indoorsy is an original comedy about three agoraphobics who decide to move in together and open a day spa inside their apartment, appropriately called spa-partment. “I have learned that that color-correction is such a crucial part of setting the tone for the story, especially in comedy,” said Helford.
As soon as DP/director Alex Lehmann got the go-ahead to shoot Blue Jay, his first feature film, he immediately knew he wanted to shoot it in black and white, and he knew what camera he was going to use. He’d tested the new Canon ME20F-SH multi-purpose camera for a horror film he was set to shoot, but which never got made. He felt the camera was ideal for Blue Jay because it satisfied several concerns: it works in extremely low light, was affordable and is simple to operate. Shooting in black and white was a creative choice. “We were going for a timeless feeling,” Lehmann said.
Dolby Laboratories, Vudu, and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment have announced the first slate of titles now available in ultra high definition with Dolby Vision high dynamic range imaging. Dolby Vision titles now available for purchase and rental on Vudu include the all-new release The Huntsman: Winter’s War, and fan favorites Lucy, Oblivion, and Lone Survivor.
The European Audiovisual Observatory has published a report entitled On demand services and the material scope of the AVMSD. Free to download here, the 70-page report analyzes the scope of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive – the current legal text applicable to broadcasting and VOD in Europe) as well as looking at the recent proposals presented on May 25 by Commissioners Ansip and Oettinger on possible changes to this pivotal legal text.
The television series The Young Pope, a joint production by Sky, HBO and Canal Plus, produced by Wildside and co-produced by Haut et Court and MediaPro, is currently using WCPMedia Services’ virtual screening room and collaboration platform to share media during production and post, and to deliver trailers to target buyers.
Futuresource Consulting recently hosted its latest New Content Horizons event, #Newcontent2016, in Hollywood. There, a group of entertainment industry executives explored business opportunities across the home entertainment and broadcast arena. The importance of content was discussed together with cutting edge services, platforms, hardware and technologies, with the goal of projecting a collective vision of the future digital entertainment landscape.
Fandango has acquired Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes, including the professional movie critic rating tool, the Tomatometer, from Warner Bros. Entertainment. The addition of Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes, along with Fandango’s recent acquisition of on-demand video service, M-Go, will expand the company’s theatrical ticketing business and create the industry’s premier digital network for all things movies.
Latin America’s largest TV network Globo has deployed Ateme’s Titan stream processing system to power 4K content on its new OTT multi-screen services. The newly launched Globo Play services are available on smart TVs, PCs, smartphones and tablets. The first TV shows to benefit from this UHD resolution will be the 2014 mini-series Dupla identidade, followed by Ligações perigosas, which will air this month.
