2011 archive

Oct

06

LOVEFiLM premieres on XBox

Microsoft and LOVEFiLM, Europe’s largest subscription service – streaming movies and TV episodes over the Internet and sending DVDs by post – have today announced a partnership that will make LOVEFiLM part of the next generation of TV entertainment, bringing the service to millions of Xbox 360 users across the UK and Germany.

The agreement between the two leading home entertainment companies sees LOVEFiLM become an official Xbox LIVE integrated film service provider and is the next step in LOVEFiLM’s strategy for multi-platform delivery – offering streaming on the LOVEFiLM Player, through the PC, iPad®, in-home connected living room devices, PlayStation®3 and soon, Xbox 360.

UK and German LOVEFiLM members will be able to instantly stream thousands of titles from major studios and independents, in addition to the rental by post service. Exclusive content available to stream includes the global phenomenon The Twilight Saga, Unknown, starring Liam Neeson and thriller Source Code, starringJake Gyllenhaal – to name a few.

With Kinect for Xbox 360, user interaction will be made more personal and intuitive, with the ability to effortlessly control the LOVEFiLM Player App through motion, gestures and voice commands. This interactivity will revolutionise the way film fans manage their movie selection and engage with LOVEFiLM.

Simon Calver, CEO of LOVEFiLM said:

“This is an exciting and important deal for our customers and is the next move in LOVEFiLM’s strategy of helping as many homes as possible connect to our service. We want to be the first choice for UK and German customers to get the best entertainment. Xbox LIVE already has a large consumer base of all ages – all of whom will now be able to connect with our great content, whether TV series’, exclusive digital films or DVDs, Blu-rays and games by post, all for one simple price

We are pleased to announce this partnership as both parties really focus on giving customers exciting and innovative services. We are proud to be a part of Microsoft’s expansion into the entertainment space and confident it will help fuel our ambition to become Europe’s largest membership entertainment service.”

Stephen McGill, Director of Xbox & Entertainment for Microsoft UK said:

“Microsoft is very excited to be welcoming LOVEFiLM to Xbox LIVE. I feel certain that the opportunity to interact with LOVEFiLM’s amazing catalogue of studio and independent film releases using Kinect-enabled voice and gesture commands will be well received by Xbox owners here in the UK.”

Members will be able to scroll through titles on the page, search through categories including ‘Pick of the Week’, ‘Most Watched’ and ‘Highest Rated’, view ratings and search through the LOVEFiLM instant offering by title, actor and genre.

Pushbutton CEO, Paula Byrne, added “Xbox is the perfect canvas for designers and developers of interactive media services to create exciting user interfaces. We are very excited about this announcement from LOVEFiLM and Microsoft. The future for film-loving Xbox owners looks bright indeed.”

Sep

29

LOVEFiLM launches on iPad

We’re pleased to announce that LOVEFiLM is now available as an iPad app.

LOVEFiLM on iPad puts hundreds of films at your fingertips, ready for instant streaming directly to your iPad, as well as letting you manage your account to add Blu rays, DVDs and games to your rental list. The app is now available to download for free from the App Store.

This is the third deployment that Pushbutton have produced in partnership with LOVEFiLM bringing Europe’s favourite video rental service to even more platforms, making it one of the most accessible streaming services in Europe.

As well as the PlayStation®3, Cello and SONY Bravia TVs, Pushbutton has rolled out the service in Germany on PlayStation®3 and SONY Bravia TV. As LOVEFiLMs key digital partner in all of these deployments, Pushbutton has drawn on its wide multi-platform experience  and  ’Calcium’ architecture for connected devices.

Pushbutton Managing Director, Paula Byrne, said “We are very excited about LOVEFiLM on iPad. A lot of love has been lavished on it and it shows. Working closely with the team at LOVEFiLM, we have produced a life-enhancing app for film fans. Now you can take LOVEFiLM with you when you travel, and I just think people are going to love it.”

Simon Calver, CEO of LOVEFiLM, says “In the process of making our service more portable than ever before, LOVEFiLM on iPad is the latest exciting step in giving film fans total control over their viewing schedule and our commitment to expanding the ways in which members can stream movies on a range of devices.”

To download the app, search for LOVEFiLM in the iTunes store on your iPad now and start receiving the films you want to watch, when you want to watch them.

Go to the App Store

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Jul

28

Amazon Acquires Pushbutton

Pushbutton have announced today that Amazon.com, Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN). have acquired Push Button Holdings Ltd.

“Pushbutton has a strong reputation for delivering amazing user experiences on connected devices,” said Greg Greeley, Amazon’s Vice President of European Retail. “They were instrumental in helping launch the LOVEFiLM player through a variety of devices, and we look forward to helping them continue to innovate on behalf of customers.”

“With Amazon and LOVEFiLM’s support, we look forward to offering our clients, as well as their customers, even more ways to access digital services in the future,” said Paula Byrne, Pushbutton Managing Director.

About Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth’s Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.comand other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services provides Amazon’s developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon’s own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Kindle, Kindle 3G, Kindle with Special Offers, Kindle 3G with Special Offers and Kindle DX are the revolutionary portable readers that wirelessly download books, magazines, newspapers, blogs and personal documents to a crisp, high-resolution electronic ink display that looks and reads like real paper. Kindle 3G, Kindle 3G with Special Offers and Kindle DX utilize the same 3G wireless technology as advanced cell phones, so users never need to hunt for a Wi-Fi hotspot. Kindle is the #1 bestselling product across the millions of items sold on Amazon.
Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp, www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, www.amazon.cn, andwww.amazon.it. As used herein, “Amazon.com,” “we,” “our” and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management’s expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com’s financial results is included in Amazon.com’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.

About Pushbutton
Pushbutton is an award winning interactive digital design and build company operating within the media sector. With a long history of creating digital TV products and services it specialises in the design and development of next generation user interfaces across a range of traditional and emerging TV platforms and the companion devices that support them.

Pushbutton works with TV Platform owners, consumer electronics companies, technology vendors, gaming organizations and content owners. It has become the ‘go to’ company for partners seeking to deliver interactive media services on a range of current and future platforms. Active platforms for IP-powered media and services include set top boxes, connected TV’s, games consoles and the ‘big three’ mobile platforms; iOS, Android, and Windows Phone.

For further information please contact:

Amazon.co.uk Ltd

Ben Howes
+44 (0)20 8636 9280
pressoffice@amazon.co.uk

Jun

23

Connected TV win for Germany. SONY BRAVIA TVs get LOVEFiLM

Pushbutton has worked closely with LOVEFiLM in Germany to launch a new service for connected TVs, allowing viewers to instantly watch hundreds of titles directly through SONY BRAVIA Internet Video TVs, Blu-ray players and Blu-ray Home Theatre kits.

German members of LOVEFiLM, Europe’s largest subscription service for streaming movies and TV episodes over the Internet and sending DVDs by post, can now stream titles directly into their living rooms – expanding the digital service in Europe.

The move to extend the partnership between the two companies follows the successful launch of the direct-to-TV service in the UK in March 2010. LOVEFiLM subscribers will be able to select the service as an icon on the SONY menu bar of SONY Internet Video devices, search for titles through categories such as genre of ‘most watched’ and manage their DVD and Blu-ray rental lists through the TV.

Simon Calver, Chief Executive of LOVEFiLM, said:
“We are working hard to expand the digital service in Europe and this is the next step in making LOVEFiLM available on as many connected devices as possible. Extending our partnership with SONY and being able to take this service directly into living rooms means that our German members now have access to hundreds of instantly available titles from the comfort of their sofas.”

Paula Byrne, Managing Director of Pushbutton, said “This deployment shows Pushbutton’s depth of expertise in connected TVs, and multi-platform roll out of major media services across territories. We are extremely proud of a robust and elegant connected devices application that offers real value for LOVEFiLM subscribers in Germany.”

Edward Uzzell, Proposition Development Manager for SONY, comments:
“We are delighted to announce our extended partnership with LOVEFiLM. SONY is the first consumer electronics manufacturer to bring the service directly to TVs and the German expansion means more of Europe can now enjoy the LOVEFiLM catalogue instantly via their connected devices.”

Jun

22

Pushbutton assists LOVEFiLM with PS3™ roll out in Germany

LOVEFiLM has announced that its PS3™ service has now gone live in Germany. The service was developed in partnership with Pushbutton, as a part of the company’s ongoing commitment to LOVEFiLM as its official digital partner.

The LOVEFiLM release stated “LOVEFiLM and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) have extended their partnership to bring LOVEFiLM to millions of PlayStation®3 (PS3™) users across Germany.

“German members of LOVEFiLM, Europe’s largest subscription service, streaming movies and TV episodes over the Internet and sending DVDs by post, will be able to stream Europe’s widest choice of titles directly to their TVs – opening up LOVEFiLM in Germany to millions of homes that are already PS3™ connected.

“The move to expand the digital service in Europe and introduce the Sony partnership into the German market follows the launch of the PS3™ service in the UK in November of last year. It is the most significant extension to-date of LOVEFiLM’s direct-to-TV rollout, which began in the UK in March 2010 when LOVEFiLM launched on SONY BRAVIA Internet Video TVs, Blu-ray players and Blu-ray Home Theatre kits.”

Simon Calver, Chief Executive of LOVEFiLM, said:
“The extension of our partnership with Sony beyond the UK is a significant move in expanding our digital home entertainment service internationally. PS3™ already has a strong customer base in Germany who will now be able to benefit from our vast collection of titles that can be streamed directly to their living rooms.

Expanding the digital service in Germany is the latest step in our strategy to make LOVEFiLM available on as many devices as possible and give our members the opportunity to watch anytime, anywhere, anyhow.”

The LOVEFiLM service is available on the XMB (XrossMediaBar) on all Internet-connected PS3™s, providing German members of LOVEFiLM, on subscription packages, with access to hundreds of film favourites, from major studios and independents alike, such as Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, V For Vendetta, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Batman Begins and Beowulf.

Members will be able to scroll through titles on the page, search through categories including ‘Pick of the Week’, ‘Most Watched’ and ‘Highest Rated’, view ratings and search through the LOVEFiLM instant offering by title, actor and genre. LOVEFiLM will also offer German PS3™ users who are not already LOVEFiLM subscribers, exclusive incentives to join the service including free trials.

We know there is a huge interest within our audience for film, and so the addition of LOVEFiLM to our current range of services is a very natural fit and one which significantly enhances the value proposition of PlayStation 3,” said Uwe Bassendowski, MD of Sony Computer Entertainment Germany. “LOVEFiLM has a proven track record of success and innovation in the film distribution field and is a very welcome addition to the PlayStation family that I’m confident PlayStation gamers will embrace enthusiastically.”

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