Best Buy To Stream Movies Online

Best Buy Innovates Announcing a new service to stream video to a multitude of platforms, Best Buy unveils a service to stream video and first-run movie releases onto all electronic devices sold by the retailer. After inking the deal with CinemaNow, owned by Roxio, Best Buy enters the field in competition with Apple (I-Tunes) and Netflix.

Currently in place in Best Buy’s Insignia brand, this service will be included free on devices which play movies. Best Buy is currently in negotiations with all the major electronics companies to include the service on any product sold at a Best Buy. A customer would purchase the product and embedded therein would be the service, co-branded with Best Buy and CinemaNow, to download movies on demand. CinemaNow offers a host of titles which is growing daily and customers will be able to download onto their device a movie on the day of its release.

Best Buy is not stopping with televisions, DVD players and Blu-Ray devices. It will load the service, which will not charge a monthly fee, onto cell phones, desktop computers and laptops that are sold at its retail locations. As one of the nation’s largest reseller of electronics, this positions the CinemaNow service to be a market leader in a relatively short timeframe.

“Our relationship with Sonic Solutions allows Best Buy to quickly establish a strong position in the digital delivery of video entertainment,” Brian Dunn, chief executive of Best Buy, said in a statement.

CinemaNow is currently in this market, providing the technology for TiVo DVRs and BlockBuster’s online service.

“Digital is developing as a channel and we’re forecasting that by 2012 it will be a significant, double-digit percentage,” said Ryan Pirozzi, director of digital media for Best Buy.

“This is certainly a very crowded space and we’re going to work to translate our customer insights into a more compelling service than those out there currently,” Pirozzi said.