Five Hollywood Studios Plan Internet Film Service

Five of Hollywood's major movie studios have announced plans for a joint on-demand movie service for both old and new releases that will be targeted to U.S. broadband users.

The studios are Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Viacom, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Universal Studios and Warner Bros. Major studies that are absent from the deal are The Walt Disney Co., 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks.

The five studios have yet to name the joint venture, or name a management team for the service. Rollout is reportedly months away.

The service will be based on technology developed by Sony that will allow users to download movies and watch them on their PCs for a fee. The movies could also be viewed on a television connected to the PC.

Movies on the service will be supplied on a non-exclusive basis, with each studio determining its own release schedule and pricing. The five major players said other studios would be free to use the service.