Kong to be king of the downloads

King Kong will be available for download on 10 April

Universal Pictures UK and Lovefilm are setting up the first download-to-own film service in the UK. 

The service will be aimed at consumers who want to watch films on their home PCs, laptops or handheld devices, and will begin on 10 April with the release of King Kong. 

This is the first time that films will be sold as a legal download at the same time as the DVD release.

As well as getting two digital download files, one for PCs and one for portable devices, buyers will also be mailed a hard copy of the DVD. Films will be priced from £19.99 for new releases, falling to £9.99 for back-catalogue films.

"Download-to-own has the potential to completely revolutionise the way people watch movies. The entertainment industry is changing rapidly with the introduction of new delivery channels to consumers and an emphasis on instant access," said Peter Smith, president of Universal Pictures International.

Mark Livingstone, chief executive at Lovefilm, added: "This represents a landmark development in the entertainment world and the way customers view movies and content. Customers want to access and enjoy movies in many ways."

The new service will also be available from AOL, as part of the ISP's film downloads service launched in February. 

Universal eventually expects to make all 6,500 movies in its catalogue available on the download service.