Film Industry to Launch Online Movie Portal
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Korea's film industry is collaborating on an online movie portal that will let users choose from approximately 20,000 downloadable films. A pilot version of the project will start in late October with an official launch scheduled for the end of the year. Joining the project are the Korea Film Council and 60 production companies, movie distributors and VOD service providers.
Rather than streaming movies, the portal will allow viewers to download and store files on their computers. Service prices have not been settled yet, but will vary according to the film's date of release. The movie files will include digital rights management (DRM) software to limit either the period or number of times they can be played.
The legal home video market has shriveled in recent years, making up just 2.27 percent of the income of Korea's film industry in 2007, down from 12.35 percent in 2001. The industry estimates that illegal downloading causes some W500 billion (US$1=W1,244) of damage annually. There have been calls for a legal space for movie downloads, but until now most efforts have been poor. Paran, one of the country's leading portals, offers for-pay downloads, but its selection of only a few hundred films is not satisfying for users. P2P companies have also recently launched for-pay download services, but few people are using them and illegal file-sharing remains prevalent.
In order to encourage the participation of the film industry in the new project, the KFC will pay network and storage expenses. In return, three percent of download revenues will go to the council. P2P sites are likely to be excluded from participation. "P2P sites are not a legal space to download movies", a KFC official said Monday.
Rather than streaming movies, the portal will allow viewers to download and store files on their computers. Service prices have not been settled yet, but will vary according to the film's date of release. The movie files will include digital rights management (DRM) software to limit either the period or number of times they can be played.
The legal home video market has shriveled in recent years, making up just 2.27 percent of the income of Korea's film industry in 2007, down from 12.35 percent in 2001. The industry estimates that illegal downloading causes some W500 billion (US$1=W1,244) of damage annually. There have been calls for a legal space for movie downloads, but until now most efforts have been poor. Paran, one of the country's leading portals, offers for-pay downloads, but its selection of only a few hundred films is not satisfying for users. P2P companies have also recently launched for-pay download services, but few people are using them and illegal file-sharing remains prevalent.
In order to encourage the participation of the film industry in the new project, the KFC will pay network and storage expenses. In return, three percent of download revenues will go to the council. P2P sites are likely to be excluded from participation. "P2P sites are not a legal space to download movies", a KFC official said Monday.
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