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America Online Launches 'Theater B,' a New Feature Offering Free Broadband-Enhanced Movies on Demand - Yahoo! Finance

NEW YORK - June 9, 2003 - America Online (NYSE:AOL - News)--AOL Movies Teams with MovieFlix.com to Offer Four New Movie Titles Each Month, Which Can Be Instantly Streamed on AOL for Broadband at AOL Keyword: Theater B

AOL Movies introduces its newest feature, "Theater B," which offers AOL for Broadband members the exclusive opportunity to watch classic and campy movies free on demand. AOL Movies has joined forces with MovieFlix.com, the leading broadband movie provider on the Internet, to bring its inventory of titles to AOL for Broadband members at AOL Keyword: Theater B beginning today.

Each month, Theater B will offer a new movie theme with a new film available for on-demand viewing each week. In recognition of the "Three Stooges" 75th Anniversary, June kicks off with classic "Three Stooges" short films such as Brideless Groom, Disorder in the Court and Malice in the Palace. July is Sci-Fi Cinema month on Theater B featuring various campy sci-fi flicks. In coming months, movie themes on Theater B may include a Dick Tracy Festival, Alfred Hitchcock Theater, Monster Madness, Christmas Classics and others.

"MovieFlix.com's movie offerings on Theater B are just the type of premier entertainment content perfectly suited for our members," said Steven Yee, Vice President and General Manager, AOL Movies. "Theater B makes for a great addition to AOL Movies' suite of movie features, and we're confident that AOL for Broadband subscribers will enjoy the complete movie experience that MovieFlix.com provides."

"This agreement will enable us to extend MovieFlix's broadband service to a wider audience of online users," said Opher Mizrahi, CEO and co-founder of MovieFlix.com. "By promoting our service with AOL, we aim to further strengthen our reputation for delivering reliable, quality broadband movies to our members."

June 9, 2003 - Yahoo! Finance

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AOL sets up camp classics at MovieFlix - Variety Magazine

By: David Bloom

America Online will stream four classic or camp films a month for free on its broadband service in a deal with MovieFlix.com.

AOL's Theater B will tap the MovieFlix library, including Three Stooges shorts and sci-fi pics such as "Teenagers From Outer Space," "The Crawling Eye" and "Rocketship X-M." More notable films will be made available in coming months such as Alfred Hitchcock's "The Man Who Knew Too Much," Frank Sinatra starrer "The Man With the Golden Arm" and George Romero's "The Night of the Living Dead."

Announcement is part of AOL efforts to get its tens of millions of subs to upgrade to more expensive high-speed Net connec-tions by offering bundles of exclusive content. The company's once fast-growing subscriber base continues to erode, dropping by 1 million in the past year.

June 9, 2003 - Variety Magazine

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AOL unspools free films with MovieFlix.com - The Hollywood Reporter

By: Paul Bond

America Online broadband users can watch B-movies, campy cult films and some classics for free beginning today through an arrangement with MovieFlix.com.

The AOL-MovieFlix partnership is part of a previously announced push on the part of AOL to encourage fleeing dial-up users to stick with AOL via its broadband service.

Called Theater-B, the AOL offering will feature a new movie each week based on the month's theme. June, for example, is all about Moe, Larry, Shemp and Curly -- in recognition of the 75th anniversary of the Three Stooges.

July has been dubbed Sci-Fi Cinema month, featuring such movies as "Monster From Green Hell" and "Teenagers From Outer Space."

"We wanted to have a little fun with camp," AOL Movies vp and general manager Steven Yee said. Classics come later, with months dedicated to such luminaries as Alfred Hitchcock and Frank Sinatra.

AOL users will watch movies without having to leave AOL in favor of the MovieFlix site.

The AOL deal represents one of MovieFlix's largest partnerships, said Robert Moskovits, co-founder of the film site. MovieFlix has rights to 3,000 films and earns money by charging its 8,000 subscribers $5.95 per month for unlimited access to those films.

It also has 1 million registered users who may see some films free. Rights holders are paid quarterly an amount based on how many times their films are viewed.

June 9, 2003 - The Hollywood Reporter

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Toot Suite For AOL Broadband - The Hollywood Reporter

By: Paul Bond

America Online, trying to make good on its promise to court broadband users amid slightly dwindling dial-up subscribers, will announce today a slew of partnerships designed to encourage sales of its AOL 8.0 Plus, due out soon. MovieFlix.com will offer free screenings of film classics and AOL Time Warner properties. People and Entertainment Weekly will create original content for the effort. Reportedly set to launch today, a spokeswoman said AOL 8.0 Plus might not happen for another week.

April 1, 2003 - The Hollywood Reporter

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AOL unveils new high-speed service - MSNBC

America Online on Monday unveiled what it has been working on furiously for five months - a high-speed Internet service key to its turnaround strategy that executives are characterizing as a sign of the new AOL.

The unit’s new management team, led by Jon Miller, has been trying to recharge growth and improve morale while contending with a slump in advertising revenue and dial-up subscriber growth, federal probes into its accounting practices and calls by some investors to spin off the division.

News and entertainment programming is one of the cornerstones of the new service, which will offer premieres of new music from the likes of Madonna, free screenings of old movies from MovieFlix.com, content from Univision targeted at Spanish-language speakers, game highlights from NBC, NFL and NHL and footage from ABC News’ 24-hour online service.

March 31, 2003 - MSNBC

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Movies the Way They Should Be - MovieMaker Magazine

By: Jennifer M. Wood

MovieFlix.com’s Robert Moskovits talks about the future of Internet

Ten years ago many prognosticators believed that by now we’d be watching movies on our computers more often than the big-screen. While such overestimation was the downfall of several Internet behemoths, the dot-commers who survived continue to reinvent themselves and the future of the Internet. For MovieFlix.com co-founder Robert Moskovits, that means assembling the most comprehensive library of online entertainment and waiting for broadband to take over. With a base of 800,000 customers and growing, he just may hold the key to the future of the Internet.

Jennifer Wood (MM): Can you give a brief description of exactly what it is that MovieFlix does?

Robert Moskovits (RM): MovieFlix.com has developed and maintains a library of more than 2,700 full-length movies, short films, independent films and television shows in over 30 popular categories. The MovieFlix service is available over the Internet via streaming video technology from the MovieFlix Website at www.movieflix.com. MovieFlix also offers MovieFlix Plus, the Internet’s leading premium movie subscription service which acts as a companion to MovieFlix's existing free movies.

MM: With the fall of such one-time Internet giants as AtomFilms, previous online business models have had to change. How has the mission of MovieFlix changed, if at all, since its inception?

RM: Our primary source of revenue came from syndication of movie streams to other dot-coms. With the demise of many Internet companies, MovieFlix had to turn to alternate revenue streams subscriptions.

MM: Why do you think MovieFlix has grown in success while other like-minded companies have closed their doors?

RM: MovieFlix has a singular focus: to offer high-quality video streams at a reasonable price. That, coupled with our low burn rate as well as solid business plan, has allowed MovieFlix to continue to grow its membership base and revenues.

MM: What are the different subscription options offered to MovieFlix members and what is the cost to join?

RM: MovieFlix.com has two levels of membership: MovieFlix Basic is free access to thousands of full-length movies, short films, independent films, television shows and much more. MovieFlix Plus is your all-access pass to hundreds of premium movies and member services. MovieFlix Plus is only $5.95 per month for unlimited movie viewing. There are no additional fees, charges, or per movie charges.

MM: How do you go about choosing films to be showcased on your site? Do you accept submissions?

RM: While we do accept independent film submissions, it's not our main focus (we are not an indie film site like iFilm or AtomFilms). We mainly concentrate on licensing (on a performance-based revenue share) full-length feature movies of all genres.

MM: What are some of the changes MovieFlix will see in 2003?

RM: More high-quality movies added, as well as studio deals for first-run features.

MM: What do frequent visitors to the site tell you?

RM: That the site is extremely simple to navigate and use.

MM: Where do you see the Internet and the film industry's place in it in five to 10 years?

RM: Broadband is still in the primordial soup stage in the evolution of video streaming. The next five years will show steady growth and improvement in the quality of video content as well as delivery methods as broadband becomes ubiquitous. In 10 years we'll all watch movies this way...

January 20, 2003 - MovieMaker Magazine

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Studio copyright battles worthy of Hollywood script - C|Net

By: Stefanie Olsen

The Internet's long-held promise of offering every movie ever made is facing a threat far more powerful than any studio chief, box-office star or pitbull uber-agent: the Hollywood contract.

Although the movie industry is taking steps that signal new seriousness about selling works online, complex matters of intellectual property rights could keep some titles offline for years, according to those negotiating such deals.

Some online movie operators have decided to avoid working with large Hollywood studios for now because of negotiating complexities and high licensing costs. MovieFlix, one of the longest-running online distributors, deals only with independents and production companies with midrange to small film budgets, which usually secure and own licensing rights from all parties up front.

"In big studio deals, there's a lot more paperwork and a lot more contracts and people," said Movieflix co-founder Robert Moskovits. "When there's a lot of money involved, things get more difficult."

January 13, 2003 - C|Net

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MovieFlix Continues Membership Growth - Streaming Magazine

MovieFlix today announced that it has registered over 800,000 members. Contributing to this strong membership growth is the popularity of the more than 2,700 broadband movie titles consisting of Hollywood classics, independent films, short films, television shows and more in over 30 popular categories as well as the high quality of movie streaming utilizing the popular Windows Media Player and the Real Player formats.

"MovieFlix was launched with the goal of making watching movies online fast, easy, reliable and fun," said Opher Mizrahi, CEO and co-founder of MovieFlix. "Four years later, MovieFlix has helped revolutionize the way in which people watch movies on the Internet, providing them with a high-quality movie viewing experience. It has become the number one source for watching movies on the Internet."

MovieFlix also offers MovieFlix Plus, the Internets leading premium movie subscription service which act's as a companion to MovieFlix's existing free movies. MovieFlix Plus members enjoy benefits and premium services available exclusively to subscribers, including access to best-of-breed premium-only content, exclusive online movie screenings, personalized movie recommendations, online movie premieres, celebrity and filmmaker interviews, choice between Windows Media Player and Real Player and customer service available 24/7 by phone.

November 18, 2002 - Streaming Magazine

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Net movies: Ready for prime time? - C|net

By: Stefanie Olsen

The major Hollywood movie studios are finally getting serious about delivering movies over the Internet, but their performances still could end up on the cutting-room floor.

Movielink--a joint venture among MGM, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal and Warner Bros.--last week announced technology partnerships with Microsoft and RealNetworks to help power its movie-rental service on the Net, set to launch by December. The deals represent crucial final edits to a venture long overdue, and they lend credence to promises that the movie studios will open film vaults to widespread Internet distribution.

Legal experts have warned that antitrust scrutiny could scuttle a studio-backed Web venture. The Justice Department has intervened numerous times to prevent movie studios from controlling distribution in other areas such as cable. Although studio cooperation may be desirable, it could require a careful balancing act to avoid running up against antitrust concerns that have hounded the industry for decades.

On the technical front, Movielink's announcement last week addressed key questions about security. The company will use digital rights management technology from both RealNetworks and Microsoft, hedging its bets in case one solution fails.

Robert Moskovits, co-founder of film site MovieFlix.com, said that while the launch of Movielink indicates rising momentum for such services, the venture will likely lose money, at least initially. MovieFlix itself serves 6,500 monthly subscribers, an audience size that Moskovits says keeps the bandwidth costs down.

"They can publicize themselves all they want, but if there isn't the market out there or people who know how to watch videos online, this isn't going to be a real revenue stream," he said. Moskovits pointed to Intertainer as the perfect example of too much, too soon.

In October, Intertainer, with nearly 150,000 broadband subscribers, closed its service, citing litigation with the movie studios. A month earlier, it had filed a federal antitrust suit against AOL Time Warner, Sony, Universal and Movielink, charging the studios with engaging in a conspiracy to inhibit its business by withholding licensing deals. Intertainer does not plan to reopen until the litigation is resolved.

Intertainer did not attribute its closure to a lack of funds. But Moskovits speculates that it's the end of the story for the company, which he said spent a large chunk of its $120 million in investments to secure licensing deals with the movie studios but failed to draw enough subscribers to make money on the material.

November 4, 2002 - C|Net

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Intertainer Shuts Down -- Whither VOD? - DigitalCoast Reporter

By: Ben Fritz

Intertainer, the dominant player in the Internet video-on-demand (VOD) space, has shut its doors, most likely for good. CEO Jonathan Taplin says Intertainer is no longer able to operate due to alleged price fixing and unfair competition by the major studios that provide its content. Last month, Intertainer filed a lawsuit against AOL Time Warner, Sony, Vivendi Universal, and MovieLink, the online VOD joint venture the three are planning to launch along with MGM and Paramount. Taplin accused the studios of engaging in unfair practices to undermine Intertainer as soon as they decided to band together to form MovieLink.

With MovieLink still facing an anti-trust investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and waiting to launch, the remaining players in the VOD space are CinemaNow, which offers a small selection of content from major studios along with independent films, and MovieFlix, which has mostly public domain films and an increasing number of independent movies.

Both companies said they are in negotiations with major studios to add their content and, whether out of a desire to stay on Hollywood's good side or a genuinely different experience than Intertainer claims to have had, said their dealings with the studios have been slow, but fair.

Robert Moskovits, COO of L.A.-headquartered MovieFlix, was harsh in his analysis of Intertainer's downfall, accusing it of being another dot-com that failed due to too much VC money and optimism about the space's growth.

"They were shooting for the stars, but this space is just a primordial soup now and there are no stars to be had," he stated. "Going through over $100 million in this business is just criminal. We've done this for half a million of our own money and while we're much smaller than Intertainer, we're still around."

Both CinemaNow and MovieFlix offer monthly subscriptions to view their premium content, priced at $9.95 and $5.95 respectively.

Moskovits said MovieFlix currently has 6,300 monthly paying members and projects it will have 10,000 by the end of Q1 2003. MovieFlix, which is run by Moskovits and a partner, is currently cash flow positive, while CinemaNow, which has major investors such as Microsoft and is majority owned by independent studio Lions Gate, is shooting for profitability in the first quarter of 2004.

Both companies expressed optimism that the launch of MovieLink will bring increased attention to the VOD space, increasing their own opportunities as purveyors of more niche content.

October 18, 2002 - DigitalCoast Reporter

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