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HMV and FilmFlex launch UK movie service

Entertainment and technology retailer HMV has teamed up with video-on-demand (VOD) movie rental provider FilmFlex Movies to launch its Hmvon-demand movie service in the UK.

Hmvon-demand will initially be offered via the web on PC, with content available on a rental basis to watch on or offline. Plans to extend the service to a range of digital devices are to follow, as well as introducing other access models including download-to-own and cloud-based services. FilmFlex will manage the digital rights and will be responsible for the website and platform operations.

The service offers a range of movies provided by Sony Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, Walt Disney, Warner Bros, Entertainment One and Momentum Pictures including Cars 2, Rio, Zookeeper, Horrible Bosses and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

It will initially be promoted through the HMV online store, before main promotional activities kick off in January 2012.

“With a growing number of consumers now incorporating VOD into their viewing and purchasing habits, the time is right to include a digital service into our own offer,” says HMV marketing and e-commerce director Mark Hodgkinson. “Partnering with FilmFlex will allow us to extend our brand into new areas and deepen the relationship with our customers.”

Find out M&M features editor Martina Lacey's opinion of this on the M&M blog.

Jenni Baker, London