Shaw lands VOD partner

By Susan Rush
From The September 13, 2002 Edition Of CED Broadband Direct

Canadian communications company Shaw Communications is putting the finishing touches on its video-on-demand service set to launch next month in Calgary.

The company has inked a deal with Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution Group to help fill up its VOD library. Although financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, Alliance Atlantis will supply older titles from its catalog of films, as well as current releases. Movies slated to debut this fall on Shaw's VOD service include John Q, Amelie, Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Blade II and 40 Days and 40 Nights.

Shaw also has a content deal with Hallmark Interactive to provide more than 300 titles. The company says it is continuing to work to secure more content deals from movie studios.

The VOD service will offer subscribers a selected title for up to 48 hours. The service also will offer full VCR functionality, including such features as pause, rewind and fast-forward.