Looking to Watch a Movie or TV Show? There Are Now 100 Legitimate Online Services in the U.S.
For movie or television fans seeking to watch a new show or revisit their one of their favorites, there is good news in the latest compilation by the MPAA of online services, both here in the United States and throughout the world.
Here at home – there are now 100 online services offering viewers legitimate full-length films and television shows. And worldwide, there are now at least 413 such services, of which more than 60 of these, such as iTunes and Netflix are available in multiple countries.
In the United States, the MPAA has created a website: www.WhereToWatch.org where viewers can learn – including some well-known sites like Amazon, Target Ticket, Hulu, HBO GO and Crackle, or others that feature more independent fare or shows from other countries, such as FindAnyFilm, FlixHouse, Viewster, and IndieFlix.
One of the more recent highlights in the fourth quarter was the announcement that beginning February 24th, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) will be launching an online streaming service for all of their Pay-Per-View events and original content. The service will first begin here in the United States, before becoming available to international fans in the U.K., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Nordic countries by the end of the year.
Other notable developments that occurred in the last quarter include: the announcement that thirteen world premieres of films from the Toronto Film Festival will be available exclusively on Vimeo for 30 days beginning March 21st; the announcement that Korean-based DramaFever is expanding into children’s content by streaming 12 Korean children’s titles in response to customer demand for kid-friendly content; and the launch of an online cinema providing access to 30 TV series and 10 thousand episodes by Russia’s second largest social network, Odnoklassniki.
The number of innovative online viewing options for audiences around the world continues to expand at an astonishing rate. For consumers who love great film and television shows this is terrific news, but it is also welcome news for creators looking for innovative ways of developing new shows and existing services looking for new means of bringing this content to viewers throughout the world.