iN Demand, MGM make content pact

By SUSAN RUSH
From CED Broadband Direct, August 20, 2002

The lion is roaring at iN Demand. The VOD provider has inked a multi-year content deal with MGM Home Entertainment Group.

The agreement gives iN Demand access to MGM's 4,000-title library and upcoming releases, such as Windtalkers, No Man's Land, Bandits and Hart's War. Financial terms were not disclosed.

About 3 million cable customers have access to movies on demand, and the market for VOD is on the rise. Digital cable customers are expected to reach 35.4 million in the United States by the end of 2003, and 8.8 million of those will be VOD-enabled customers, according to Kagan World Media.

iN Demand is working to make sure it has a large slice of the VOD pie. In addition to the deal with MGM, the company has content deals with Artisan Entertainment, DreamWorks SKG, Columbia TriStar, 20th Century Fox and Universal Studios