LoveFilm hits back at Netflix with Warner Bros deal

LoveFilm, the Amazon-owned subscription movies service, has today hit back at impending competition from rival Netflix by signing a major new deal with Warner Bros.

The multi-year "pact" between LoveFilm and Warner Bros covers digital streaming, download-to-own and pay-per-view of movies such as The Dark Knight, The Hangover and Gran Torino.

LoveFilm will also get access to Warner Bros' branded subscription video on-demand service WarnerFilms, offering 24-hour rentals of up to 28 on-demand of films at any one time. The service, which launched on BT Vision in the UK in May 2010, adds seven new titles each week.

Under the agreement, new Warner Bros films will also be made available to LoveFilm subscribers to stream on their PCs, PS3, iPad, connected TVs, Blu-ray players and, later this year, the Xbox 360.

Warner Bros UK president and managing director Josh Berger said: "This significant deal with LoveFilm and its parent company Amazon takes a 360 degree approach to delivering Warner Bros' world-class movies across multiple business lines.

"Now, LoveFilm customers will enjoy more ways of enjoying great film content, all with the ease that the service has become known for."

LoveFilm chief executive Simon Calver added: "This major deal builds on our partnership with Warner Bros and gives LoveFilm members exclusive access to world-class movies across multiple platforms.

"We are committed to delivering the best entertainment service possible - giving our members the content they want on the platforms of their choice."

LoveFilm's deal with Warner Bros represents a "second window" pay-TV agreement, meaning it will not get digital streaming access to new Warner Bros movies at the same time as Sky Movies.

There is still the chance that Netflix will be able to secure the 'first window' digital rights when Sky's deal expires, as the US media giant has already agreed similar deals with MGM, Lionsgate and Miramax for its new UK and Ireland service, which launches in early 2012.

Warner Bros did not discuss the first pay window rights, but its president of international TV distribution Jeffrey R Schlesinger said: "The establishment of a second pay window with LoveFilm is an important evolution in the way films are made available for viewing in the UK in ever-more convenient ways.

"Importantly, the structure of the deal ensures that our films continue to retain their value to linear and non-linear operators following this window and for the long term."