Downloads elusive for indie stores
DIGITAL: Distributors provide service to libraries first
By Jennifer Netherby -- Video Business, 6/5/2009
JUNE 5 | DIGITAL: Don’t expect local video stores to soon have the ability to offer movie downloads.
Video wholesaler Baker & Taylor last week announced a new digital initiative to deliver downloadable videos, books and music content through its retailer clients.
The distributor is expected to first focus on offering downloads to its library customers, however, and rival video distributors VPD and Rentrak also say they have no plans to get into digital distribution of movies for their retail customers just yet.
“It’s not anything close to being big enough for us to get involved at this point,” VPD senior VP of marketing Marty Jorgenson said.
One distribution source said for now the companies making money on downloads—Apple, Microsoft Xbox—are making it on hardware sales, not the content. For that reason, it makes no sense for most video retailers to get into the business yet, he said.
Baker & Taylor said it is creating a Digital Media Library through a partnership with digital media distributor OverDrive to deliver e-books, audio books, music and video to its retail customers. Additionally, clients can work with Baker & Taylor to offer their store customers digital content directly for playback on a variety of devices.
OverDrive already offers movie, music and book downloads for 9,000 libraries, director of marketing David Burleigh said. The company also handles the backend on e-book and digital audiobook sales for Barnes & Noble, Borders and Waterstone.
For video downloads, OverDrive has deals with PBS, Image Entertainment, Starz Video, Magnolia, HD Net, Jansen Media, Questar and other suppliers of TV series and movies, Burleigh said. Library cardholders can checkout a video on their library’s Web site and then watch on their computer or a compatible portable device. After the checkout period ends, the DRM-protected digital content disappears from their hard drive and devices.
Libraries pay for the copies as they would a DVD, so if a copy is checked out by one person, it can’t be checked out by another at the same time, he said.
Image Entertainment and other companies, however, offer package deals that give libraries an unlimited number of copies for checkout at one time.
Burleigh said OverDrive and Baker & Taylor expect to have more details on what content will be offered to B&T customers in the next month.
