Audio Video News

Here's a formula for an experiment pre-determined to prove there's no demand for downloadable movies over the Internet: Offer two films that nobody wants to see, and make them playable for only 24 hours.

That's essentially what Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer has done with a new pilot program to deliver feature films over the Net. In a joint venture with Internet film distributor CinemaNow, Inc., MGM is offering What's the Worst that Could Happen? and The Man in the Iron Mask for a 30-day trial period that began February 20. Both films are heavily encrypted to inhibit copying and carry self-termination codes that will make them unplayable after 24 hours. If that weren't discouraging enough, the download time for each film is approximately 25 hours with normal dial-up modems and four to five hours with high-speed connections.

Neither film has much audience appeal. Critics skewered What's the Worst, a Martin Lawrence/Danny DeVito comedy that came and went so fast that few movie fans were even aware of its existence. The film cost $45 million to make but earned only $32 million before it went to video back in December, according to the Los Angeles Times. MGM's other online offering, The Man in the Iron Mask, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was modestly successful only because it rode in the wake of Titanic. It's been available as a video rental for three years, which means that almost everyone who wanted to see it has already done so.

Because the downloaded films will be confined to users' computers, they must be watched on computer monitors. Without question, there are some computer geeks who will leap at this simply because they can. Most movie fans are going to ask "What's the point?" when they realize that, under the best circumstances, the whole process will take longer than going to a video store, renting the movie, watching it, and returning it. It's also more expensive than a rental: The cost of each movie download will vary from $1.99 to $5.99, depending on connection speed.

Given all the obstacles MGM is putting in its customers' path, it's unlikely that many serious movie fans are going to show much interest in downloading films?especially if they can't make quick permanent copies and watch them on their home theater systems. Even so, MGM believes it will gather plenty of useful information over the next month. "The idea is to throw it out there and see what happens," MGM Home Entertainment spokeswoman Stacey Studebaker told the Times.

If nothing else, MGM has made history by being the first in the industry to offer its wares in downloadable form. Several studios have stated that they have plans to do likewise, after an August 29 ruling by the US Copyright Office that found that downloads were well within existing law. The Video Software Dealers Association had sought clarification on the so-called "first sale doctrine," hoping that their preferential position as video retailers would apply to the nascent download business too. The Copyright Office determined otherwise, opening up the market for the studios to sell direct to the public.