Press

AOL Time Warner Deal Brings Choice, Changes - KCAL-TV, Los Angeles

By: Alan Mendelson

It was fitting that officials of the new AOL Time Warner rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Friday.

Fitting, because they rang the wedding bells that married the number one Internet provider with the company that controls CNN, HBO, Warner Brothers, many magazines, and the nation's second largest cable tv operator.

The new AOL Time Warner could mean big things for Robert Moskovits and Opher Mizrahi. Two years ago these two college buddies formed their own website company, MovieFlix.com -- a website that shows movies.

"Someday everyone will watch movies this way," Moskovits says.

"Three to five years from now I think the consumer will be able to go to the movie theater, they'll be able to rent a movie, a DVD, but they'll also be able to watch it on their computer."

In fact, MovieFlix.com shows some two thousand movies now, and the Hollywood newspaper Variety has written about them.

Moskovits and Mizrahi say the AOL Time Warner merger will help their business and the concept of bringing more video to the internet.

"We think it's positive for the consumer in that there will be a lot more choice, not only where they'll get their content and their movies, but probably how much they'll have to pay for it," says Moskovits.

The AOL Time Warner merger opens up many possibilities for new companies like MovieFlix.com, but this door also opens up the door to some problems -- problems about competition.

In approving the deal, the Federal Communications Commission said the new AOL Time Warner must open up its cable television systems to other Internet companies, and the Internet must be open also to other communications services.

The FCC says it will be watching, but clearly the day is coming when one wire into the home will control everything -- TV, Internet, telephone service and more. Click here to watch KCAL-TV's feature on MovieFlix!

January 12, 2001 - KCAL-TV, Los Angeles

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All Around The Web - C|net - TV.com

Each week C|net provides a sampling of upcoming online events. Movie buffs will want to click over to the library of MovieFlix to watch Hollywood classics, independent films, short films, and television shows in more than 28 categories. Their entire movie library is currently available free to any user. Click here to watch C|net's feature on MovieFlix!

December 9, 2000 - C|net - TV.com

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Movies-On-Demand, Here Today - Webnoize

By: R.W. Deutsch

Blockbuster and AT&T are building sophisticated "on demand" video systems that combine the wide selection of video movie rentingwith the instant gratification of pay-per-view. But on-demand movies are available -- legally -- on the Internet right now. Instead of flipping onthe TV, at least some movie buffs are snuggling up to a PC to see classic comedy like Cary Grant's "His Girl Friday," cult legend "Night of the Living Dead" or Sam Shepard's "Curse of the Starving Class."

"We had one family who emailed us saying they cancelled their cable subscription," said Robert Moskovits, vice president of communications and co-founder of MovieFlix. "But I'm not sure I believe them."

MovieFlix is one of a number of web sites, including BijouCafe, CinemaNow and Alwaysi, that are staking out ground in the streaming filmspace. While sites including IFilm and AtomFilms specialize in short, easily digestible films watchable during a lunch break, these other companies are taking the leap to program feature-length motion pictures. Without waiting forwidespread broadband proliferation or Internet streaming in the living room, they are building businesses and waiting for technical progress andmainstream consumer demand.

Many, like MovieFlix, are culling product from the public domain -- films whose copyrights have either expired (e.g., "His Girl Friday")or, as with "Night of the Living Dead," have fallen through cracks in copyright laws.

BijouCafe and Alwaysi also program independent features and purchase low-priced film libraries. CinemaNow, backed by Trimark Pictures(which recently merged with Lion's Gate), is offering films from those libraries and others, including Hong Kong film distributor Tai-Sang'scollection of kung-fu movies.

All say they are in business for the long haul and know they won't see profits for months. But while each believes profitability is within two years' reach, each has its own philosophy, strategy and business plan.

MovieFlix has about 1,200 titles in 28 genres (including shorts) and plans to have about 2,000 by year's end.

"It's really early in this space to justify huge budgets, but it's important to build up a library and user base," said Moskovits.

Moskovits said MovieFlix is using public domain films simply to build a syndication network. Its partners have included BigStar, Akoo.com and iSyndicate.

CinemaNow has close to 300 films available on demand, focusing on genre and cult films that traditionally have a small but steady market-- and an already established online community on which the company hopes to capitalize.

"In the early days of cable, they'd play the same movies over and over again and that's what we're doing for now," said Jared Goldsmith,marketing coordinator of CinemaNow. "When cable first started...it was met with confusion; will this help or hurt? People said no one will payfor it."

Alwaysi, which has more than 1,000 films on its site, plans to offer offline distributors report profiles that use viewer demographics forfilms already on its web site to help distributors find a film's target audience. Additionally, the company has technical partnerships with ICTV and Excite@Homethat could put its programming in front of broadband customers.

Like Alwaysi, BijouCafe (now a division of StreamMedia.net) wants to take films off-line and into traditional markets. One of its features,"Rock n' Roll Frankenstein," will get "midnight movie" exposure through California's Camera One art house theaters.

"It had become pretty clear in my mind that there was this locked distribution system for independent films," David Coleman ofBijouCafe said about why he started the site. "Hollywood actors were doing shorts and Hollywood itself had co-opted the festivals and it was just unfair for a guy who just finished his Super8 epic to compete."

BijouCafe has about 200 films at present, some are public domain titles, but many are new independent projects and obscure B-grade films.Coleman is building a creative network of outlets for BijouCafe movies that includes even dinner theaters.

"You can't afford in this new media to create a model and close the doors," Coleman said.

While executing different strategies and business models, all of these businesses agree it is crucial to survive until the technologycatches up to them -- or suffer the fate of online video start-ups Pseudo, Pop.com or DEN.

"Look at the ones going belly up," said MovieFlix's Moskovits said. "They were competing for nobody."

"They spent too much money and you just can't make money showing films for no money," said Howard Rosenberg, CEO of Alwaysi. "The vastmajority of companies creating content specifically for the Internet will be out of business."

"Sure it's early yet," said BijouCafe's Coleman, "But I think the potential is enormous. What you have to do is react fast and adapt as themarket changes. You can't afford to create a model that isn't adaptable."

October 25, 2000 - Webnoize

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Life In The Fast Lane - Fortune Magazine

By: David Carnoy

You've ditched your jet-age 56Kbps dial-up connection for one that delivers warp speed. It's called extra bandwidth. With your DSL, cable, T1, or T3 line, you're one of the lucky drivers cruising in the fast lane, where the minimum speed limit is 300Kbps and everything comes at you a lot more quickly. Sure, it's great that your favorite Websites load much faster. But you're looking for destinations that really put your extra bandwidth to the test.

Well, here's the ticket. Although we still live in a narrowband world, more and more sites are catering to broadband users, peppering their content with streaming audio and video, animation, and other rich media. And some sites, with an eye to the future, are geared strictly to users who have high-speed connections.

Fortune has crisscrossed the Web and assembled a guide to some of the best broadband content. To be sure, not everything here is for everybody. And not every site will be in business this time next year. But who cares? They're all at the cutting edge now.

Hollywood is hot for the Web, and a slew of new entertainment sites that offer films, animated shorts, trailers, interactive games, and Internet-only shows are trying to break out and become the online versions of studios or networks. Though most of the videos don't play well full-screen and their action isn't always that smooth, you can spend hours watching a wide assortment of sometimes clever, sometimes stupid, often silly programming.

MovieFlix.com offers a large collection of movies you can watch online for free. You can stream such film noir classics as The Stranger and D.O.A. right to your computer screen. In the comedy section, there's also His Girl Friday and several Three Stooges films.

So load up the latest free versions of Windows Media Player, Flash, Shockwave, QuickTime, and RealPlayer and enjoy the ride.

October 9, 2000 - Fortune Magazine

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Content may be the Real difference - CBS MarketWatch

By: Viktorya Tobak

While online content is not yet making money for venture capitalists, it's hugely important for the industry overall. "I don't think it was ever (Real's) intention to be in the content business," says Real's Tom Frank. "The reality is that as we move into the world of the future, what really becomes critical for the consumer experience is how effectively you deliver the content and, more importantly, how you enhance the content experience. In a world that is ultimately defined as the consumer experience with content, our objective is to be an added value in that relationship."

For corporate customers, many of whom now support both Real and Windows Media formats, the decision to first offer Real was primarily about distribution. "That's the bottom line," says Opher Mizrahi, CEO and founder of MovieFlix.com. "In terms of technology and cost, Real and Microsoft are the same. But where they are not on equal ground is with distribution. And with that, Real wins hands down."

"I believe this is a fertile time to build new business models on the Internet -- models that will offer more distribution channels and attract both fans of content and creators of content," said Rob Glaser, RealNetworks CEO, in an email response. "With our new GoldPass subscription service, we're doing what the cable companies did in 1979. We're saying to studios and labels and consumers, 'We can build it; you should come.' We have relationships with 150 million consumers out there, and our job is to give them good choices and a good experience."

September 28, 2000 - CBS MarketWatch

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Deals Galore on Digital Coast - DigitalCoast Reporter

Los Angeles-based MovieFlix.com, a broadband movie provider for the Web, and iSyndicate, a San Francisco-headquartered Net content syndicator, entered a marriage of convenience allowing the latter's customers to have access to MovieFlix.com's 1200-plus titles.

The selection will include classics, indie films, shorts and television shows in over 28 categories, said a joint company release, and will "build their audience, revenues, and brand worldwide."

The financial specifics of this alliance were not given.

September 27, 2000 - DigitalCoast Reporter

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MovieFlix.com and iSyndicate Partner to Distribute Content Worldwide - MovieFlix.com Press Release

Hollywood, CA, (September 25, 2000) - www.MovieFlix.com, a leading broadband movie provider on the Web and iSyndicate, the leader in Web content syndication, today announced that they have entered into a strategic distribution relationship. As a result of this agreement, iSyndicate's customers will have access to MovieFlix.com's 1200+ titles consisting of Hollywood classics, independent films, short films and television shows in over 28 categories and at the same time will build their audience, revenues, and brand worldwide.

"This announcement is an exciting next step for MovieFlix.com as we continue to provide quality, in-home entertainment through electronic delivery to our online audience," said Opher Mizrahi, CEO and co-founder of MovieFlix.com. MovieFlix.com recognizes iSyndicate as the leading provider of dynamic and relevant Web content and this relationship is a unique opportunity to jointly benefit from new content and complementary expertise.

"We are pleased to partner with MovieFlix.com to offer rich media programming to our subscribers," said Joel Maske, President and CEO of iSyndicate. "At iSyndicate one of our strengths is maximizing the value of the content we syndicate. Through our relationships with companies like MovieFlix.com, we continuously build upon our content partners' audiences while simultaneously creating the tools they need to measure success."

iSyndicate's sophisticated technology enables it to take any digital element and transmit it across its worldwide network of over 270,000 customer-sites. iSyndicate offers the best and broadest selection of content from over 1000 sources - from individual content creators serving niche interests, to the most recognized and popular brands like, AccuWeather, The Associated Press, Business Wire, CBSSportsLine.com, CNET, CNBC, HealthScout, Rolling Stone, etc. The content available through iSyndicate covers virtually every category, topic, and type found on the Web today, such as, breaking news, features, commentary, sports scores, stock quotes, comics, puzzles, games, weather, photos, and rich media including full-motion video, and music.

iSyndicate, is the leading provider of dynamic and relevant Web content designed to help drive commerce and build community on the Internet. Today, the company aggregates, packages, integrates and delivers a breadth of content including audio, video, animations, interactive games, comics and weather from more than 1000 trusted sources, including, The Associated Press, CBS SportsLine, CNBC, CNET, Reuters, Rolling Stone and Salon.com, all in real-time. This content is made available by iSyndicate to over 270,000 customers, including, Citibank, Fidelity, OmniSky, Nortel Networks, Nintendo, Wells Fargo, and Xoom.com. iSyndicate supports the ICE (Information & Content Exchange) standard based on XML among a variety of others for all of its content.

iSyndicate is based in San Francisco with offices in New York and London, and is backed by leading venture capital firms Scripps Ventures and Labrador Ventures; investment bank Chase Hambrecht & Quist; Internet leaders Infospace.com and Vignette Corporation; NBC (GE), Microsoft and News Corporation; and individual investors.

September 25, 2000 - MovieFlix.com Press Release

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Stream It Again, Sam - TIME Digital

By: Charles Herold

Betty Boop, Buster Keaton, early TV dramas starring James Dean and even some recent films are all there when you want them, any time of the day or night.

In the days before computers took over my life I spent all my time watching that older technology — television. I was particularly fond of movies from the 30s and 40s; Film noir, slapstick comedy, whatever. Even though the American Movie Channel shows a lot of old movies, somehow they never show the ones I want to see, and when they do I miss them because they're on at some weird time. But now I can watch Bob Hope lose the girl to Bing Crosby anytime I want at MovieFlix.

MovieFlix has 1200 movies on their site that you can view through streaming video with the Real Player. They have a little of everything, from short independent films submitted by aspiring filmmakers to some of the greatest movies ever made, with all points in between. You can see classic silent films like "Metropolis" or watch a whole bunch of Three Stooges shorts. You can view campy fair like "Reefer Madness" or you can see a vast number of early films by Alfred Hitchcock. You can watch Fred Astaire dance and Bruce Lee kick. You can see westerns, horror films, Ozzie and Harriet episodes, documentaries. The major problem I had with MovieFlix was deciding what to watch first.

While MovieFlix will stream movies for both fast and slow connections, you really need a high speed connection to enjoy the show. With a broadband stream I can watch a movie in Full Screen mode and almost feel as though I'm watching a movie on TV. The picture isn't quite as good, but it's good enough for most things, although a visual masterpiece like Orson Welles' "The Stranger" does suffer from the pixelation. The narrowband stream is only for people who don't mind watching a movie that consists of puzzling blobs of light and color pretending to be people talking.

With a good connection you can throw your TV away and just watch your computer. Betty Boop cartoons, movies with Buster Keaton or W.C. Fields, early TV dramas starring James Dean, and even the occasional more recent film like "Thursday's Game" with Gene Wilder and Bob Newhart or the Sissy Spacek film "Katherine" are all there when you want them, any time of the day or night.

There are other sites where you can find a few movies, but I've seen nothing approaching the MovieFlix collection and by the end of the year they plan to have another 800 films on tap. They've even promised to look into getting two of my favorites, "Champaign for Caesar" and "Three Strangers." There's no rush though, I'm not going to run out of things to watch anytime soon.

August 29, 2000 - TIME Digital

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MovieFlix fare to ZapMedia - The Hollywood Reporter

By: Chris Marlowe

ZapMedia.com Inc. today announced a deal with MovieFlix.com that will provide users of ZapMedia's Internet devices direct access to broadband entertainment.

ZapMedia gives its subscribers access to e-mail, movies, music and multimedia transferred via the Internet -- using a set-top box known as a ZapStation -- to a television or home stereo as well as to a range of such co-branded devices as cell phones and personal digital assistants.

Anyone with broadband Internet access can view MovieFlix.com content on either MovieFlix's site or the sites of its partners, including NBCi, Real Networks, BigStar.com, Trimark Pictures, Rogers Communications, RoadRunner, Screaming Media, IFILM and StreamSearch.

"With ZapMedia, you'll have high-quality broadband streaming straight to your television set," MovieFlix.com CEO Opher Mizrahi said. "Using other ways of access, you'll be watching (MovieFlix films) on your PC."

ZapMedia has selected 250 titles from MovieFlix's library of more than 1,200 classics, independents, shorts, cartoons and television shows for inclusion in this deal. "This will probably be added to in the future," Mizrahi said. "We've done similar spotlighted, customized content deals with NBCi, BigStar.com and Akoo.com."

The media convergence company has other preferred content provider deals in place for personalized news, finance, weather, sports and other categories. Primary among these is a strategic partnership with media conglomerate Gannett/USA Today. That deal, entered into in May, was valued at $270 million.

Terms of the MovieFlix.com deal were not disclosed. "We structure all of our deals case by case, but I can tell you that they are all on a cash basis," Mizrahi said. Both companies are privately held.

"We continue to secure content and distribution partnerships that allow our customers access to premier music, movies and news," ZapMedia chairman and CEO Ken Lipscomb said in a statement. "The relationship with MovieFlix will further increase the consumer's product distribution choices. It's about consumer control and offering our customers a true home-theater experience."

August 28, 2000 - The Hollywood Reporter

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ZapMedia, MovieFlix Cut Content Deal - Paul Kagan & Associates

ZapMedia.com, Inc., a self-described “media convergence technology company,” is teaming up with broadband film provider MovieFlix.com to expand the video entertainment offerings to ZapMedia subscribers.

ZapMedia users will be able to select from 250 on-demand titles from the MovieFlix library of Hollywood classics, independent films, short films and TV shows, to view over the Internet via streaming-video technology. Both companies are privately held.

ZapMedia is based in Atlanta, MovieFlix in Los Angeles.

August 28, 2000 - Paul Kagan & Associates

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