Dixons launches VOD service KnowHow
Currys and PC World have announced their expansion into an entirely new category with the launch of KNOWHOW Movies, a transactional on-demand movie and TV streaming service.
The service will be available subscription-free from Thursday 1st March 2012 and will allow viewers to watch and buy from a library of films and TV shows directly from their TVs, smart phones, laptops and tablets.
This launch follows a flurry of activity in this marketplace in recent months, and puts the service in direct competition with the likes of Netflix, LOVEFiLM and HMV’s on-demand service amongst others.
The Dixons group which owns Currys and PC World has teamed up with major film studios including Disney, Warner Bros and Momentum Pictures, allowing customers to rent or buy films and TV episodes from launch, with new studios being added imminently. New releases are priced at £3.99 to rent and £12.99 to buy and catalogue titles are priced from £2.99 to rent and from £5.99 to buy. TV shows start at £1.99.
As the UK’s leading electrical retailers, Currys and PC World are in the unique position of having a captive audience to market the new service to, as they sell over 4.5 million connected devices each year and have contact with 19 million customers through in-store, online and servicing operations.
Each new connected device sold by Currys and PC World will come with KNOWHOW Movies pre-loaded and demonstrated at purchase by store staff.
This is a huge leap for the CE retail sector which had previously been criticised as not always being being able to demonstrate the technological capabilities of smart TVs to TV buying customers due to limited access to the internet within stores.
Customers will be able to access their KNOWHOW Movies on up to five devices, allowing them to start watching a film on their tablet on the way home from work and continue watching in front of the TV once they arrive home without any hiccups. Customers will also have access to the KNOWHOW knowledge site and UK-based Customer Contact Centre, in case they have any questions when using the service.
Initially available for PCs and Macs, KNOWHOW Movies will be rolled out to tablets, mobile phones (both Android/iOS operating systems), Smart TVs and consoles within the next six months.
KNOWHOW Movies has partnered with Rovi who will manage the digital supply chain and technical platform that delivers the content to customers.
KNOWHOW Movies will also become an Ultraviolet retailer in 2012, working closely with the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem, LLC (DECE) and other UltraViolet stakeholders to drive the desire among consumers to build digital entertainment collections of their favourite movies and TV shows.
Niall O’Keeffe, KNOWHOW Development Director commented: “With KNOWHOW Movies, we are offering customers the most flexible service available – they will only pay for what they watch, will have access to all the latest releases instantly and can buy and view films and TV shows on a wide range of their connected devices. As a high street retailer we are also in the unique position of being able to help customers who are less confident with tech by showing them how to install and use the service.
“TVs and the home entertainment sector is a cornerstone of our business, and it’s hugely exciting to be taking this next step and offering our customers great content to be enjoyed on their connected devices.”