DISNEY TO RELAUNCH ON-DEMAND MOVIE SERVICE

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	TURNS DOWN THE BEAM ON MOVIEBEAM Sep 2 2004
	Disney has decided to delay expansion of its MovieBeam video-on-demand system, despite favorable customer reaction (more)
	BEAM IT DOWN, DISNEY Sep 29 2003
	Disney inaugurated its MovieBeam video-on-demand rental service today in Jacksonville, FL; Salt Lake City UT; (more)
	DISNEY TO OFFER VIDEO STORE IN A BOX May 27 2003
	The Walt Disney Co. is planning to bypass cable companies and video-rental stores alike to (more)

DISNEY TO RELAUNCH ON-DEMAND MOVIE SERVICE
Tuesday, February 14 2006

Hoping to put what amounts to a virtual Blockbuster store next to the TV sets of American consumers, the Walt Disney Co. said Monday that it plans to revive MovieBeam, the on-demand movie service that it suspended last year after a two-year trial. The MovieBeam service allows 100 movies to be delivered to and stored on a settop box. Each week the box is updated. The movies are beamed to the box piggy-backed on conventional TV signals, not via the Internet, as is the case with similar on-demand services. Each time users access a movie they're charged $3.99 for a new release ($4.99 in high definition) or $1.99 for older titles. Some analysts expressed skepticism that the service will be adopted by the public. "It has to be a tremendously compelling offering for you to stack another box in your component set," Bruce Leichtman, an independent media researcher in Durham, NH, told today's (Tuesday) Los Angeles Times. "Combined with something else, it has an opportunity. When it's a stand-alone device, it's very challenged."

DISNEY PULLS PLUG ON VIDEO-ON-DEMAND TEST
Wednesday, April 27 2005
Disney has decided to shut down its MovieBeam video-on-demand service this week in the three cities where it has been tested since 2003 -- Jacksonville, FL, Spokane, WA, and Salt Lake City, UT, the Los Angeles Times reported today (Wednesday). Unlike other VOD systems, MovieBeam uses a part of an over-the-air television signal to transmit dozens of titles to a settop box, where they can be accessed at any time of the day. Although Disney (more)

MOVIEBEAM OFFERS ENHANCEMENTS
Tuesday, October 26 2004
MovieBeam, the Disney-owned movie-on-demand online rental service, indicated Monday that its download packages will begin to look more and more like DVD sets, including such extras as short films, behind-the-scenes footage, making-of featurettes, celebrity interviews and more. The service, currently being tested in Salt Lake City, Spokane, and Jacksonville, FL, said that it will also offer other enhancements, including access to trailers for current theatrical movies. (more)