Disney Shutters Trial of MovieBeam Video-on-Demand Service

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on April 29, 2005 - 6:07am.

Burbank, Calif. -- Disney has shut down a trial of its MovieBeam video-on-demand service in three cities, as it seeks to upgrade the system and find new partners for the venture. The "datacasting" service utilized unused portions of the broadcast signal sent out by TV stations to deliver a range of movies to special set-top box receivers in viewers' homes in Jacksonville, Fla., Spokane, Wash., and Salt Lake City. The service was due to expand into additional markets, but Disney canceled those plans last fall; it's not clear when or if the company will re-launch MovieBeam. "In order to deliver to consumers an even better entertainment experience, MovieBeam is planning an upgrade of its technology, network and infrastructure," said Disney spokeswoman Michelle Bergman. "MovieBeam's business model is flexible and allows us to deliver the service to a range of devices in addition to the current MovieBeam receiver. We are in the process of making critical decisions about our device strategy and are confident that these decisions will positively impact our plans to bring MovieBeam to a national audience." The Los Angeles Times reported that Peter Murphy, the strategic planning chief at Disney who once championed MovieBeam, no longer holds that position, in a division of the company that is being overhauled.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/050428/disney_moviebeam.html?.v=2
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-moviebeam27apr27,1,7158465.story
http://tinyurl.com/9rf7m
http://www.moviebeam.com