Warner Bros. Breaks New Ground Making “Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire” Available For Download Day-And-Date With DVD Release Through Dutch Service
(March 30, 2006 - Burbank, CA) – Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group today announced that it will release "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" for download-to-own the same day the DVD goes on sale in the Netherlands and the Dutch speaking part of Belgium. Under the licensing agreement with Free Record Shop, the largest specialty retailer in the Netherlands, Warner Bros. will be the first studio to deliver download-to-own movies (also known as electronic sell-through) day-and-date with their DVD sale. Beginning April 4, 2006 Free Record Shop customers will be able to choose from nearly 100 Warner Bros. films ranging from recent hits to catalogue favorites for legal and secure download through Free Record Shop’s website (www.FreeRecordShop.nl).
"Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" will be available for download-to-own starting at midnight on April 4, the same day that the DVD goes on sale. Consumers who purchase the electronic version of the movie through www.FreeRecordShop.nl between midnight and nine a.m. will have the chance to win a portable media player on which to watch it. Other movies initially offered will include recent titles such as "Ocean’s Twelve" and "Constantine" as well as popular action films including the Matrix trilogy and "Lethal Weapon 4." Catalogue favorites such as "Casablanca," "Doctor Zhivago" and "Gone with the Wind" will also be available on a download-to-own basis and the movie selection will continue to expand with both classic Warner Bros. titles as well as new releases.
“We are excited to be the first studio to deliver secure and legal download-to-own films through the Internet simultaneous with the film’s DVD debut. This agreement provides Warner Bros. with yet another channel to deliver our movies directly to consumers’ homes,” said Kevin Tsujihara, President Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group. “By continuing to partner with local services around the world, Warner Bros. is finding innovative ways to engage with the local culture and community. Additionally, these solutions help us to combat piracy by providing high quality, affordable and legal downloads. We are committed to exploring cutting edge, digital delivery options around the globe.”
Free Record Shop’s download-to-own offering will allow users to purchase and download a legal permanent copy of a Warner Bros. movie for unlimited playback on the device of download. All Warner Bros. content will be copy protected by Microsoft’s Windows Digital Rights Management (DRM) software.
"We are launching our download-to-own service with Warner’s industry leading content including the number one box office film in the Benelux in 2005, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." We want to bring easy-to-use and legal movie downloads to our customers and with this agreement, we can,” said Johan van Hees, Managing Director of Free Record Shop. “Within the developments of the digital market, delivering movies to our customers via this channel is the logical next step.”
"By partnering with Free Record Shop we are ideally positioned to serve the Dutch audiences like never before. We will continue to provide more and more options for access to legal, high quality Warner Bros. movies anywhere, at any time,” said Ruud Lamers, Managing Director of Warner Home Video Benelux.
About Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group
The Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group was founded in October 2005 to bring together all of Warner Bros.' businesses involved in the digital delivery of entertainment content to consumers, while furthering Warner Bros.' mandate to harness the benefits of emerging technologies and manage the risks these technologies pose to the economic value of the content. The business units comprising the WBHEG include Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, Warner Home Video, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (including Warner Bros. Games), Warner Bros. Technical Operations and Warner Bros. Anti-Piracy Operations.
About Free Record Shop
Free Record Shop is the largest subsidiary company within Free Record Shop Holding and market leader in The Netherlands with approximately 185 shops. Free Record Shop, That’s Entertainment! is an important player in the sales and distribution of entertainment products in The Netherlands. The mission of this dynamic organization is the distribution of entertainment (music, movies, games, books, tickets and more) physically through their shops as well as through Internet (bricks & clicks). FreeRecordShop.nl and new ways of digital distribution play an important part in the success of Free Record Shop.# # #