Electronic sell-through

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Electronic sell-through (EST) is a method of media distribution whereby consumers pay a one-time fee to download a media file for storage on a hard drive. [1] Although EST is often described as a transaction that grants content "ownership" to the consumer, the content may become unusable after a certain period and may not be viewable using competing platforms. [2] EST is used by a wide array of digital media products, including movies, television, music, games, and mobile applications. The term is sometimes used interchangeably with download to own (DTO).

Film and television

The film and television industry's $18.8 billion home entertainment market consists of rental and sell-through segments, the latter of which includes the electronic sell-through of digital content. [3] In 2010, EST generated $683 million of total home entertainment revenues, [4] putting it behind the more lucrative revenue streams of cable video-on-demand (VOD) and internet video-on-demand (iVOD), which brought in a combined $1.8 billion in the same period. [3]

In 2010, Apple's iTunes Store accounted for three quarters of the U.S. EST business. [5] The rest of the EST market was captured by Microsoft (via its Zune Video platform), Sony, Amazon VOD (now Amazon Video), and Walmart (via its VUDU service).

A number of industry trends indicate the future expansion of EST's share of digital distribution revenues. David Bishop, worldwide president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, describes the following outlook:

"With the launch of UltraViolet (the cloud-based digital copy locker system) establishing a common digital distribution platform later this year, prices potentially coming down on digital sales, more marketing devoted to digital sellthrough, and studios adding more value to the sellthrough product by making HD available and building in smarter extra features, we see the balance tilting even more toward owning and collecting digital movies." [4]

Related Research Articles

Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films without a traditional video playback device and a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of over-the-air programming was the most common form of media distribution. As Internet and IPTV technologies continued to develop in the 1990s, consumers began to gravitate towards non-traditional modes of content consumption, which culminated in the arrival of VOD and over-the-top (OTT) media services on televisions and personal computers.

Direct-to-video or straight-to-video refers to the release of a film, television series, short or special to the public immediately on home video formats rather than an initial theatrical release or television premiere. This distribution strategy was prevalent before streaming platforms came to dominate the TV and movie distribution markets.

Streaming television is the digital distribution of television content, such as television series and films, as over-the-top media service (OTT). Streaming television stands in contrast to dedicated terrestrial television delivered by over-the-air aerial systems, cable television, and/or satellite television systems. In the United States, streaming television has become "the dominant form of TV viewing."

Redbox Automated Retail, LLC is an American video on-demand streaming and video rental company specializing in DVD, Blu-ray, 4K UHD rentals and purchases and formerly video games via automated retail kiosks and TVOD, AVOD, and FAST services via its website, Android and iOS apps, and many consumer electronic devices. Redbox kiosks feature the company's signature red color and are located at convenience stores, fast food restaurants, grocery stores, mass retailers, and pharmacies.

MGM Home Entertainment LLC is the home entertainment distribution arm of the American media company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). It is owned by the Amazon MGM Studios subsidiary of Amazon.

Movielink was a web-based video on demand (VOD) and electronic sell-through (EST) service offering movies, television shows, and other videos for rental or purchase. Movielink drew its content offerings from the libraries of Paramount Pictures, Paramount Network Television, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Universal Studios, Warner Bros. Entertainment, Buena Vista Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, Twentieth Television, Koch Entertainment and others on a non-exclusive basis. While it was only available to users in the United States, it was the first company in the world to offer legally downloadable movies from major studios.

Film distribution, also called film exhibition or film distribution and exhibition, is the process of making a movie available for viewing to an audience. This is normally the task of a professional film distributor, who would determine the marketing and release strategy for the film, the media by which a film is to be exhibited or made available for viewing and other matters. The film may be exhibited directly to the public either through a movie theater or television, or personal home viewing. For commercial projects, film distribution is usually accompanied by film promotion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital media player</span> Device used for playing media such as online video

A digital media player is a type of consumer electronics device designed for the storage, playback, or viewing of digital media content. They are typically designed to be integrated into a home cinema configuration, and attached to a television or AV receiver or both.

Crackle, formerly named Grouper and Sony Crackle, is an American video streaming service founded in 2004. The service was purchased by Sony Pictures in 2006 and was renamed as Crackle. In 2018, the name was changed to Sony Crackle. Sony sold a majority stake to Chicken Soup for the Soul in March 2019, and the name was changed back to Crackle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital rights management</span> Technology to control access to copyrighted works and prevent unauthorized copying

Digital rights management (DRM) is the management of legal access to digital content. Various tools or technological protection measures (TPM), such as access control technologies, can restrict the use of proprietary hardware and copyrighted works. DRM technologies govern the use, modification and distribution of copyrighted works and of systems that enforce these policies within devices. DRM technologies include licensing agreements and encryption.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Home video</span> Prerecorded video media that are either sold, rented, or streamed for home entertainment

Home video is recorded media sold or rented for home viewing. The term originates from the VHS and Betamax era, when the predominant medium was videotapes, but has carried over to optical disc formats such as DVD and Blu-ray. In a different usage, "home video" refers to amateur video recordings, also known as home movies.

A digital copy is a commercially distributed computer file containing a media product such as a film or music album. The term contrasts this computer file with the physical copy with which the digital copy is usually offered as part of a bundle. It allows the disc's purchaser to acquire a single copy of the film on a digital device such as a personal computer, smartphone, tablet computer, or digital media player, and view it on those devices without requiring access to the physical media. "Digital copy" is also commonly referred to as "Digital HD".

UltraViolet was a cloud-based digital rights locker for films and television programs that allowed consumers to store proofs-of-purchase of licensed content in an account to enable playback on different devices using multiple applications from several different streaming services. UltraViolet also allowed users to share access to their library with up to five additional people. UltraViolet was deployed by the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE), an alliance of 85 companies that included film studios, retailers, consumer electronics manufacturers, cable television companies, internet service providers (ISPs), internet hosting vendors, and other systems and security vendors, with the notable exceptions of Walt Disney Studios, Google, Amazon and Apple.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smart TV</span> TV set with integrated Internet features

A smart TV, also known as a connected TV (CTV), is a traditional television set with integrated Internet and interactive Web 2.0 features that allow users to stream music and videos, browse the internet, and view photos. Smart TVs are a technological convergence of computers, televisions, and digital media players. Besides the traditional functions of television sets provided through traditional broadcasting media, these devices can provide access to over-the-top media services such as streaming television and internet radio, along with home networking access.

Over-the-top (OTT) media service is a media service offered directly to viewers via the Internet. OTT bypasses cable, broadcast, and satellite television platforms—the media through which companies have traditionally acted as controllers or distributors of such content. The term is most synonymous with subscription-based video on demand (SVoD) services that offer access to film and television content, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. This content may include shows and movies for which the OTT acquired rights from the content owner. Programming may also include original content produced by the service or specifically for it.

In the video game industry, digital distribution is the process of delivering video game content as digital information, without the exchange or purchase of new physical media such as ROM cartridges, magnetic storage, optical discs and flash memory cards. This process has existed since the early 1980s, but it was only with network advancements in bandwidth capabilities in the early 2000s that digital distribution became more prominent as a method of selling games. Currently, the process is dominated by online distribution over broadband Internet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digital content</span> Content that exists in digital data form

Digital content is any content that exists in the form of digital data. Digital content is stored on digital media or analog storage in specific formats. Forms of digital content include information that is digitally broadcast, streamed, or contained in computer files. Viewed narrowly, digital content includes popular media types, while a broader approach considers any type of digital information as digital content.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">GoDigital</span> Digital and video-on-demand distribution company

GoDigital is a full service digital and video-on-demand (VOD) distribution company. Launched in 2008, the Beverly Hills-based company as of 2013 had a library of over 1000 films ranging from independent cinema to award-winning documentaries and foreign films. GoDigital has direct deals with a number of primary VOD services, including iTunes, Netflix, Amazon.com, Hulu and YouTube.

GameLink is an adult entertainment and eCommerce company, focused on Video on demand (VOD), sex toys, and adult DVDs. It maintains an extensive database of adult performers and their films. With its Stream-to-Own service, GameLink offers cloud storage for entire adult libraries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jungo TV</span> American entertainment company

Jungo TV, LLC is a privately-held media company that owns and operates television channels and streaming apps founded in 2016. Jungo TV is headquartered in Los Angeles with offices in San Diego, Mumbai, and Manila.

References

  1. Raugust, Karen. "Turning Digital into Dollars". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2024-06-28.
  2. "Digital Glossary". Home Media Magazine. Quested Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on March 14, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2011.
  3. 1 2 Schaefer, Lyndsey (2011-01-06). "Year-End 2010 Home Entertainment Report Q4" (PDF). Digital Entertainment Group. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-01-24. Retrieved 2011-03-29 via DVD Information.com.
  4. 1 2 Prange, Stephanie. "Digital: The New Frontier." Home Media Magazine | Covering DVD News, Blu-ray, High-def and Electronic Sellthrough for Hollywood, Studios and Retailers. Home Media Magazine, 28 Mar. 2011. Web. 29 Mar. 2011. <http://www.homemediamagazine.com/steph-sums-it-up/digital-the-new-frontier Archived 2012-03-14 at the Wayback Machine >.
  5. Amel, Arash (7 February 2011). "Apple ITunes Remains Dominant in U.S. Online Movies in 2010, Despite Competitors' Inroads". ISuppli Market Intelligence. IHS, Inc. Archived from the original on 25 February 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2011.