iWorld
Warner Bros, arvato unveils P2P digital download service for Germany
MUMBAI: Movie studio Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group teams with Bertelsmann mobile arm arvato to launch In2Movies. This initiative offers movie and TV downloads to consumers in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland using a peer-to-peer (P2P) network.
The In2Movies is expected to launch in March and with this, Warner and arvato plan to make movies available on the P2P download service on the same day as the German DVD release appears.
This joint venture comes after recent efforts by movie studios and the Motion Picture Association of America to stamp out the illegal file sharing of content over the Internet using P2P technology like BitTorrent and eDonkey. P2P networks have been blamed for rampant online piracy around the world and have been targeted by the music industry in a series of high-profile lawsuits.
The service will have more than 80 Warner Bros. films, new releases, library titles and local productions, including Batman Begins, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and Must Love Dogs, along with TV shows such as The O.C. and Friends.
In2Movies will also feature entertainment programming from local distributors and third-party content providers. The initial rollout will deliver content to computers. Eventually, the service will expand its service, allowing downloads to DVD recorders and other portable devices.
Customers will be able to download the movies and TV shows directly from the In2Movies web site, as well as from retail partner sites, or via a click-through from other sites. Warner and arvato see it as a way for DVD retailers to get into the movie download business.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group president Kevin Tsujihara said.”Through this partnership with arvato mobile, Warner Bros. will be breaking new ground in legal digital delivery, providing a rich experience at affordable prices. One of the most effective weapons for defeating online piracy is providing legal, easy to use alternatives. Warner Bros. continues its role as an industry leader by expanding the reach of its digital content through this extremely innovative platform. Our initial efforts will focus on the German market but in the months ahead we will leverage this technology to better serve markets around the world.”
The In2Movies service is using technology from GNAB, which combines a centralized download platform for protecting copyrights and licensee requirements, with a decentralized P2P network that makes it easier to distribute large files like movies without bogging down the server.
arvato mobile chief executive Bernhard Ribbrock said, “Consumers are seeking new channels for finding authorized entertainment.”
It also may eventually offer added content, such as the featurettes that are usually packaged with movies and TV shows on DVD. The downloads will be priced at different levels depending on how new the content is, whether it’s a movie or TV show, and other factors.
iWorld
Snapchat parent Snap cuts 16 per cent of workforce in AI-driven restructuring
The Snapchat parent is axing around 1,000 jobs and closing 300 open roles to save $500m, as artificial intelligence makes smaller teams the new normal
CALIFORNIA: Snap is snapping. The Snapchat parent has confirmed plans to cut around 1,000 employees, roughly 16 per cent of its full-time workforce, as it bets that artificial intelligence can do what headcount once required. Shares jumped more than 10 per cent in premarket trading on the news, a brisk vote of confidence from a market that has watched the stock shed about 31 per cent this year.
The restructuring, which also closes more than 300 open roles, follows pressure from activist investor Irenic Capital Management, which holds an economic interest of about 2.5 per cent in the company and has been loudly pushing Snap to tighten its portfolio and lift performance. The firm got what it asked for, and then some.
Chief executive Evan Spiegel told employees the cuts would reduce annualised expenses by more than $500m by the second half of the year. The company expects to incur charges of between $95m and $130m related to the layoffs, mostly severance, with the bulk landing in the second quarter. Staff in Snap’s North America team were asked to work from home on the day of the announcement.
The financial backdrop is not without bright spots. Snap expects first-quarter revenue to rise around 12 per cent to approximately $1.53 billion, broadly in line with analyst estimates. Adjusted core profit for the January to March quarter is forecast at about $233m, comfortably ahead of Wall Street’s expectation of $186.8m.
The harder question surrounds Specs, Snap’s augmented reality smart glasses subsidiary, which Irenic has urged the company to spin off or shut down entirely. The unit has absorbed more than $3.5 billion in investment and burns through approximately $500m in cash annually. Snap is pressing ahead regardless, with a consumer product expected later this year, even as Meta leads the market in the segment.
Spiegel is betting that leaner teams, smarter machines and a consumer AR play can restore Snap’s credibility with investors who have run out of patience. The redundancy notices have gone out. The harder restructuring, the one that requires a hit product rather than a headcount reduction, is still very much pending.
