Great news for Xbox 360 fans in Canada, Ireland and the UK. Starz Media has announced today that people will soon be able to rent tons of movies from the Xbox 360 Marketplace in Canada, Ireland and the UK.
Starz Media today announced a key expansion of its partnership with Xbox LIVE, significantly growing its digital distribution presence internationally. The new digital rental deal will make fan-favorite anime movies, classic horror films and other popular titles from Starz Media’s robust catalog available to Xbox 360 users in the UK, Ireland and Canada. Available titles include:
• Classic horror titles such as Re-Animator
• New horror titles such as the “Masters of Horror” series
• Anime favorites such as “Ghost in the Shell,” and Blood: The Last Vampire,
• Action animation such as the Hellboy Animated and the Stan Lee Presents collections
Marc DeBevoise, Starz Media’s senior vice president of digital media and business development, who made the announcement, noted that this will be the first time many of the Anchor Bay and Manga Entertainment titles will be accessible for digital rental in Canada, the UK and other European countries, although they have been available on DVD, TV and even theatrically in those territories. Manga Entertainment also previously launched www.manga.co.uk, a destination site for fans of anime in the UK which features clips and other videos from many of the titles.
Titles are available in the Xbox LIVE Video Store for video-on-demand (VOD) purchase, with standard usage rules: Consumers can rent the titles for up to 30 days, and can watch as many times as desired within 24 hours of starting each title.
“We’ve been hearing from fans across Europe and the rest of the world, asking when they would be able to get our content digitally ever since we started putting it on services in the U.S., so we’re thrilled to be able to give it to them now,” DeBevoise said. “This is the first of several ex-US deals we’ll be rolling out in the near future, and we hope that soon everyone will be able to get our content delivered digitally, no matter where they are.”
“With Halloween just around the corner, we’re thrilled to partner with Starz Media to bring some fantastic content that really resonates with our core audience to the UK Xbox LIVE Video Store,’ said Stephen McGill, Head of Gaming and Entertainment and Devices Division, Microsoft Ltd.. “As the biggest provider of downloadable HD content in the UK, more and more consumers are connecting with the things they love through Xbox 360 and Xbox LIVE.”
About Starz Media:
Starz Media, LLC, is a programming production and distribution company operating worldwide. It includes the Film Roman, Anchor Bay Entertainment, and Manga Entertainment brands. Its units create animated and live-action programming — including theatrical films — and programming created under contract for other media companies. It distributes that programming, and programming acquired from outside producers, through home video retailers, theaters, broadcasters, ad supported and premium television channels, and Internet and wireless video distributors in the US and internationally. Starz Media (www.starzmedia.com) is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation attributed to the Liberty Capital Group.
