BSkyB, the
UK-based subscription TV business, is gearing up to launch services that make
its content available on PCs, mobile phones and iPods.
The media giant will allow customers who subscribe to at least two premium
channels to download films and sports highlights on to their computers at no
charge.
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Another service will provide clips of sports, news and entertainment
programmes to mobile phones, and news programming will be downloadable to
Apple's iPod and similar players, also at no cost.
More than 200 films will be made available at launch growing to 1,000 at a "
later date". Spider-Man 2 and Dr Strangelove are expected to
be highlights at launch. It is expected that full length films will take an hour
to download using a 2Mb broadband connection.
Over 1,000 sports video clips will be provided including some Premiership
highlights. The mobile service will also provide access to Sky Bet accounts
which offer details of betting odds and allow bets to be placed.
Once downloaded, films and clips can be stored for 30 days before they are
automatically deleted.
To get sports and movies on broadband and mobile, a Sky subscription worth at
least £40.50 per month is needed, while to receive either movies or sport clips
the cost is £34.
Nate Elliott, an analyst at
JupiterResearch,
said: "This is a really neat offering and it is good to see a TV operator
getting involved with the move to video downloads.
"It is really just an extension of something BSkyB was already doing, but it
shows that it is building on its acquisition of
Easynet and creating new
ways for consumers to gain access to content."
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