Dixons creates on-demand service

Dixons, the UK’s largest electrical retailer, is launching a transaction video-on-demand (TVoD) service and has secured launch content deals with Disney and Warner Bros.

The service, KnowHow Movies, launches on Thursday and will offer pay-as-you-go content, including shows from Warners, the Mouse House, animation studio Pixar and Momentum Pictures, the last of which has UK rights to features such as The King’s Speech and Lost in Translation.

Fourteen thousand trained staff at Dixon’s PC World and Currys electrical stores throughout the UK will promote the service. It will be preloaded on every new internet-connected device sold. Dixons claims to sell 4.5 million a year.

New film releases will become available on the day of their UK release, proced at £3.99 (US$6.32) to rent and £12.99 to buy. Catalogue titles will cost £2.99 and £5.99 to rent. TV shows start at £1.99.

Though it will initially launch on PCs and Macs, it will be rolled out on as many other platforms as possible in the following six months.

Dixons Retail is playing down KnowHow Movies as a rival to UK subscription VoD services Netflix and LoveFilm due to its pay-per-view model.

“With KnowHow Movies we are offering customers the most flexible service available – they will only pay for what they watch, will have access to all the latest releases instantly, and can buy and view films and TV shows on a wide range of their connected devices,” said KnowHow development director Niall O’Keefe.

He added that as a high street retailer, Dixons was “in the unique position of being able to help customers who are less confident with tech by showing them how to install and use the service.”

Knowhow Movies will also join UltraViolet, the digital storage ‘locker’ system that allows viewers to watch content across multiple platforms.