Movielink was a web-based

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...

(VOD) and

electronic sell-through Electronic sell-through (EST) is a method of media distribution whereby consumers pay a one-time fee to download a media file for storage on a hard drive.Raugust, Karen. "Turning Digital into Dollars." Book Reviews, Bestselling Books & Publishing Bu ...

(EST) service offering movies, television shows, and other videos for rental or purchase. Movielink drew its content offerings from the libraries of Paramount Pictures,

Paramount Network Television The original incarnation of Paramount Television was the name of the television production division of the American film studio Paramount Pictures, that was responsible for the production of Viacom television programs, until it changed its na ...

, Sony Pictures Entertainment,

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 ...

Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...

Warner Bros. Entertainment Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...

, Buena Vista Pictures (including Miramax),

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Twentieth Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Comp ...

Koch Entertainment Koch Entertainment was an American record label and a distributor of film, television, and music. It was purchased by Canadian entertainment company Entertainment One in 2005. History First years The company began in 1975 as part of Koch Inter ...

and others on a non-exclusive basis. While it was only available to users in the United States, it was the first company in the world to offer legally downloadable movies from major studios. In general, movies obtained through Movielink could only be viewed on the computer or a television set connected to the computer from which the movie was purchased. However, consumer electronics devices such as the

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game console also allowed users to more easily view these digital media on a traditional television screen. Also, Movielink had deals with certain set top box companies to offer its movies downloaded directly to people's televisions(including AT&T's Homezone product). Experimentation with other

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s was underway, including a feature which allowed users to purchase, download, and burn a DVD of a selected film.

History

Movielink was launched on November 11, 2002. Movielink used digital rights management software from

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...

and RealNetworks to protect their content. Consequently, compatibility was limited to Intel-based computers running

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, XP, or

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and

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version 9 or later. They offered daily weekday specials for under 99 cents, and certain films for half price every week. On June 1, 2006, it was revealed that Movielink's initial investors—a joint venture of Paramount, Sony, MGM, Universal, and Warner Bros—were looking to sell the company. This came shortly after numerous studios announced their intent to work with a range of potential Movielink competitors, such as

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econo ...

, Apple Computer, BitTorrent Inc.,

Jaman Jaman was a company that offered users a movie discovery site, allowing them to browse viewing options offered across the internet. In its previous iteration, Jaman was one of the first sites to offer view on demand of media on the internet. It ...

, and

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...

. On August 8, 2007, Blockbuster purchased Movielink. According to the 8-K filing by Blockbuster, the total purchase price was $6.6 million. The deal included content agreements thus giving Blockbuster access to one of the largest libraries of downloadable movies. With the acquisition of Movielink, Blockbuster was positioned for media content delivery in

brick and mortar Brick and mortar (also bricks and mortar or B&M) refers to a physical presence of an organization or business in a building or other structure. The term ''brick-and-mortar business'' is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases r ...

rentals, DVD-by-mail, and online delivery of movies. On December 16, 2008, the Movielink website was shut down. The site was re-directed to the

Blockbuster Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to: *Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived. Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain ** Bl ...

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. Customers were notified 30 days in advance that all movies rented or purchased prior to the shutdown date must be downloaded by no later than 12/15/08 11:59 P.M. Pacific Time.

References

{{Blockbuster Defunct video on demand services Joint ventures Blockbuster LLC