E3: Starz titles to download on PS3, PSP

Overture, Manga titles part of PlayStation download deal

By Danny King -- Video Business, 6/2/2009

JUNE 2 | DIGITAL: Starz has reached an agreement to make its television and movie content available for download on Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable.

Owners of Sony's videogames units will be able to both purchase downloadable titles from Liberty Media's Starz Digital Media and rent them via video-on-demand, the companies said at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles today.

The content ranges from Liberty Media's Overture Films titles such as Righteous Kill to Starz pay-television series including Head Case to animated content from Manga Entertainment, with many of the titles available in high-definition in addition to standard-definition.

With the agreement in place, Starz is looking to take advantage of a growing contingent of movie- and television-show watchers who download or video-stream content to their televisions. Last October, Starz reached an agreement that allowed subscribers of Netflix, the largest U.S. movie-rental service via mail, to video-stream titles from an inventory of about 2,500 Starz movies, television shows and special events.

"We are delighted to enter into this agreement with this bold, visionary company that is redefining the face of gaming and mobile platforms," Mara Winokur, Starz Media’s VP of digital media and business development, said in a statement today.

Last month, Liberty Media said Starz Entertainment's first-quarter revenue rose 8% from a year earlier as the division boosted subscription rates and widened its customer base.

With the Starz deal, Sony PlayStation owners have access to more than 11,000 film titles and television episodes, the companies said.