Sony, GUBA sign movie distribution deal

This is the first video-sharing community that will distribute Sony Pictures Home Entertainment movies online, and within a year an expected 500 films, including day and date releases, will be offered to consumers.

GUBA users can purchase films on a download-to-own basis with new releases priced at $19.99, and catalog titles will retail from $9.99. Movies can be downloaded on compatible home computers with current Windows Media technology, while some will be available for rental on an on-demand basis.

"We are open for business on the Internet. GUBA is a powerful user-generated community and this deal demonstrates our strategy to find the best ways to make our content available to consumers online," said Benjamin S. Feingold, Sony's president of worldwide home entertainment, digital distribution and acquisitions. "This is consistent with our studio's history of bringing the finest entertainment to people through new technologies and channels."

According to the company, Sony was the first to move DVDs and offer television for sale online, one of the creators of Movielink, the first studio to sell movies to watch on mobile handsets and the first and only studio to offer movies embedded on PC hard drives.

"Our partnership with Sony Pictures is another major validation of our platform and a significant effort by Sony to make online distribution of film attractive to the Internet audience," said GUBA CEO Thomas McInerney. "Sony has shown a clarity of vision when it comes to portable media and entertainment. GUBA was one of the first companies to make user-generated videos available for the PlayStation Portable. We look forward to further collaboration with Sony Pictures and to making movies and TV shows distributed online, easily viewable in the home and on portable devices."

Copyright 2006 by United Press International