Streaming model could be key to LoveFilm's success

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 | By Danielle Long

LoveFilm is using the premiere, which it claims is a UK first, to promote its new movie streaming service. So could an online rental service, which posts DVDs to viewers, become redundant as content is increasingly accessed online? Why wait for a DVD to arrive (which could take weeks given the Royal Mail strikes) when you can stream it instantly?

Simon Morris, chief marketing officer of LoveFilm, points out in this week’s new media age (1 October) that consumers who enjoy films will do so in a number of ways, be it at the cinema, purchasing or renting a DVD, or downloading or streaming a film online. The key is providing them with the channels and the choice to access content however they want. And it’s for this reason that LoveFilm is keen to point out its streaming service is a complement to its DVD rentals and not a replacement.

While LoveFilm has offered downloads to own since 2006, it has been slower at rolling out its streaming service and has kept it quiet with a low-key beta test to customers before a very soft launch in August.

With Tesco ramping up its Digital Store with a beta test of its film and TV downloads, this market is no doubt set for a big boost. LoveFilm’s streaming service may be the very thing to give it relevance and new subscribers as the market becomes more comfortable with streaming models thanks to popular services such as the BBC iPlayer.

And innovations such as online movie premieres are a key way to stand out and attract new subscribers. If LoveFilm can negotiate deals on some major premieres, it may just have embarked on a very sustainable model for the future.

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