Screenclick acquired by UK firm for EUR3m

10-01-2006

by Ciara O'Brien

Irish DVD rentals firm Screenclick.com has been taken over by UK-based Lovefilm, in a deal reportedly worth EUR3 million.

According to reports in Tuesday's Irish Times, the web-based firm will be rebranded as Lovefilm.ie, and plans to offer a host of new services in the coming months including video on demand, which is due to be launched next month.

Broadband users will be able to download video to their PC for a limited period of time, or until they have watched the film. Lovefilm plans to offer a set-top box to users later this year that will allow them to watch the films on a normal TV set instead of shackling them to their PC. However, the limited take-up of broadband in Ireland may hinder the service somewhat.

Video on demand is a relatively new concept in Ireland and only came to the forefront thanks to efforts from so-called "triple-play" providers such as Magnet Networks.

Meanwhile, in the UK LoveFilm recently announced the launch of its video-on-demand service with some 500 titles on offer. The films, including major titles such as Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, cost STG2.99 to download and can be played on PCs using Microsoft Windows Media Player version 10. The service includes a seven-day rental period; once the film has begun playing, users have 24 hours to finish watching it.

The company has also allied itself with Intel to make the service compatible with the chipmaker's new Viiv platform, which is aimed at the home entertainment market.

Screenclick has more than 15,000 registered users, who pay a fee every month to avail of the unlimited online rental service. DVDs are posted to the user and can be posted back whenever they are finished watching, without incurring late penalties. This puts it in competition with other rental outlets such as Xtravision and Chartbusters; meanwhile, the new services will put it head to head with digital movie services such as Sky, which offers its Box Office service for new releases. Lovefilm has more than 120,000 customers in the UK.

This will be the second rebranding Screenclick has had in recent times; the service was originally established as DVDrentals.ie in 2001, before changing its name to Screenclick in a major rebranding programme.

Since its launch, Screenclick has established a number of deals to provide DVD rentals through third parties, including Eircom.net, Ticketmaster.ie and Lastminute.ie.