Want some incentive to buy a new TV or Blu-ray player? By the end of the year, studios may be throwing in free UltraViolet-enabled movies to sweeten the deal.
At the 2013 International CES, Consumer Electronics Association President and CEO Gary Shapiro brought members of the Digital Entertainment Group on stage in a keynote speech to announce the deal.
The purchase of an eligible connected TV or connected Blu-ray player will come with free select UltraViolet-enabled titles. At launch, consumers will be able to choose selections from participating studios, such as Lionsgate, Paramount Home Media, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.
Qualifying Blu-ray players will come with a redemption code for five UltraViolet-enabled movies; connected TVs will come with redemption codes for 10 titles.
To announce the deal, Shapiro welcomed executives from some of the participating studios on stage. Those in attendance included David Bishop of Sony Pictures, Craig Kornblau of Universal, Mike Dunn from 20th Century Fox and Steve Beeks representing Lionsgate. Ron Sanders, president of the DEG Board of Directors and president of Warner Home Video, was also on hand to speak about the deal.
Sanders called the promotion a "bold new partnership for the consumer electronics and entertainment world."
In addition to the film studios, there are several consumer electronics manufacturers involved. That initial lineup will include LG, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and Vizio. Involvement from retailers is also necessary to support the deal.
While consumers will be happy to get free movies with their new TV or Blu-ray player, studios are participating to promote the use of the UltraViolet virtual content locker, which lets users access purchased content from the cloud. Consumers will be able to easily switch between devices, such as a connected TV, a Blu-ray player, tablets and smartphones, to watch movies they own on the format.
"Consumers can tie any device to their retail purchases and watch on any device," said Sanders. "There are more seamless ways to get their collections, and their purchases, in the UltraViolet cloud."
The group also said that consumers will be able to convert purchased media to UltraViolet, to store in an online account.
The DEG reports that UltraViolet currently has over nine million household accounts. Studios and the DEG hope to grow that number.
"As a company promotes their own UltraViolet products and services, we believe it helps demand," said Sanders.
The CEA is happy to foster such a deal. Shapiro applauded the effort, and the push toward digital availability that the industry is doing on its own.
"Sometimes we disagree and sometimes we agree," Shapiro said. "When we keep the government out, we usually agree."
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