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Hollywood eyes Net
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November 30, 2000: 6:18 a.m. ET
Disney, Sony, other studios plan movie-on-demand high-speed services
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Several of Hollywood's major movie studios are working on projects to let them deliver on-demand feature films to viewers over high-speed Internet connections, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
Both Walt Disney Co. (DIS: Research, Estimates) and Sony Corp.'s (SNE: Research, Estimates) Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment unit are separately working on video-on-demand services for the Internet, the newspaper said, though no joint initiatives are planned at this time.
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 THE RACE IS ON
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Intertainer Inc. of Culver City, Calif., is already offering films, music videos and other content via high-speed connections.
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Sony is, however, in advanced talks with several studios, including Time Warner's (TWX: Research, Estimates) Warner Bros. unit, people familiar with the matter told the Journal. Time Warner is the parent company of CNN and CNNfn.
Disney has an agreement with News Corp.'s (NWS.A: Research, Estimates) 20th Century Fox unit to become a partner in its platform and is in talks with Viacom Inc.'s (VIA.B: Research, Estimates) Paramount Pictures, the paper reported.
There are other companies also looking to supply entertainment to consumers via high-speed Internet pipes. Enron Corp. (ENE: Research, Estimates) and Viacom's Blockbuster Inc. unit are planning to offer films via high-speed Internet connections, for example.
Intertainer Inc. of Culver City, Calif., is already offering films, music videos and other content via cable or digital subscriber line connections. The company is working with telephone companies and cable operators to deliver its service.
Sony has already developed technology that lets customers download a feature-length film in less than an hour through a high-speed telephone or cable-modem Internet connection, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
"People want to see movies on the Internet," Yair Landau, president of Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment, told the newspaper, "and we, along with other studios, plan to give them a chance to do that." He declined to comment on details of the Sony unit's plans, the report said. 
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Disney
Sony
Intertainer
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