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C4 signs landmark VoD deal with BVITV Channel 4 has agreed an exclusive deal with Buena Vista International Television (BVITV) for video-on-demand rights to Lost and Desperate Housewives in the UK. The agreement takes effect from tomorrow when the entire first season of Lost will be made available for download at 99p per episode from the C4 website and via NTL-Telewest's VoD service.  Season two of Lost is due to begin on C4 next week and episodes from this series will be accessible in the same way 14 days after broadcast. Seasons one and two of fellow Touchstone Television hit drama Desperate Housewives will also join the line-up next month.The deal marks a watershed for BVITV, representing the Disney-owned company's first such VoD arrangement for its network series in Europe. For C4, it's an even bigger step, signalling the beginning of a full-blown VoD strategy. The broadcaster is still struggling to reach some form of blanket agreement on VoD rights with the UK independent production sector on which it relies for most of its output. The deal with BVITV is likely to be followed by more with overseas programme suppliers. C4 chief executive Andy Duncan said the company was intent on working with BVITV to grow on-demand audiences and the deal reinforced C4's plans to make content available anytime, anywhere. Duncan said it was "a fantastic way of demonstrating our ambitions in this area." C4 new business director Rod Henwood said: “This is a significant step in Channel 4's plans to launch a full VoD service across multiple platforms later this year. Partnering with Disney on these two stand-out shows illustrates the critical strategic importance of VoD to Channel 4." Disney has been a pioneer in digital media, being first to strike a distribution deal with Apple's iTunes music store in the US last year, again using Lost and Desperate Housewives as its standard bearers. Earlier this month, the company said it was making the shows available online for free via its own websites the day after broadcast, supported by unskippable ad breaks. The company is determined that illegal file-swapping services will not wreak the same havoc upon it as befell the music industry when Napster took hold. "We’re committed to working with partners with strong new media strategies to harness new technology in bringing our hit programming to viewers in fresh and innovative ways," said Tom Toumazis, executive VP and MD of BVITV EMEA, commenting on the C4 deal. "We also remain committed to providing legitimate ways in which to download content, and believe that offering these two series in this way is a significant step.” The deal also hands NTL-Telewest rights to show the dramas in high definition. Jonathan Webdale 26 Apr 2006 © C21 Media 2006 
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