Sonic Solutions today announced that it will light up movie storefronts for its retail and studio partners on hundreds of new connected consumer electronics device SKUs this fall. Leading up to the holiday season, the RoxioNow™ platform will power storefronts on a massive number of new HDTVs, Blu-ray Disc players, Digital Media Adapters, and mobile handsets from popular manufacturers including HTC, Insignia, Integra, LG, Magnavox, Memorex, Onkyo, Panasonic, Phillips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony, Sylvania, Toshiba, Western Digital, and VIZIO. The broader reach is expected to continue to drive attach rates and increase transaction volume for both sales and rentals as many more consumers begin to recognize and appreciate the convenience of accessing the latest Hollywood entertainment directly from their living room.
"Our history of helping successfully launch and establish new media formats continues with online entertainment delivery," said David Habiger, President and CEO, Sonic Solutions. "We have taken some significant strides in the quarter to execute support for a massive array of consumer electronics devices and platforms, and remain on pace to surpass our target of 30 million RoxioNow-enabled devices by June 2011. Although Sonic already supports the most movie storefronts and, with the recent addition of DivX®, has technology residing on the largest network of devices, we will continue to dramatically scale our platform in order to fully establish online entertainment distribution as the most efficient and profitable delivery system for entertainment."
Sonic will continue to expand its influence and further fuel the industry's transition to online content delivery this holiday season as new and existing partners begin to introduce more RoxioNow-enabled devices into the market and as retailers begin to intensify their consumer marketing and awareness efforts. In the New Year, the interoperable ecosystem of RoxioNow-powered devices and services will continue to grow as new retail partner storefronts are introduced in the U.S. and internationally, recent chip agreements help extend device reach, and as Sonic's broader PC and mobile platform support is fully deployed.
"The interest and adoption rate that Sonic is driving through its RoxioNow digital entertainment platform is consistent with the high-growth trajectory we are forecasting for web-enabled CE devices," said Norm Bogen, VP Research, Digital Entertainment, In-Stat. "Our research indicates that nearly all broadband households in the developed world will own at least one web-enabled CE media device by 2013, and reveals an extremely high interest rate among consumers for viewing streamed or downloaded full-length movies. Obviously, these factors will have a dramatic impact on a digital delivery technology provider like Sonic that has a RoxioNow platform powering multiple storefronts on a complete range of devices."
Marking the introduction of RoxioNow-powered storefronts on a broad range of devices this fall, Sonic Solutions President and CEO David Habiger will today preside over the NASDAQ Opening Bell. Mr. Habiger will be joined by representatives from partner companies Best Buy, Panasonic, and Samsung.
The RoxioNow platform serves a broad range of premium content, including new movies and next-day TV programs, to a growing, multi-manufacturer ecosystem of home and mobile electronics including PCs, connected TVs, set-top DVRs, Blu-ray Disc players, smartphones, and mobile media devices. The platform enables retailers and consumer electronics companies to participate in the entertainment supply chain, add value to product offerings, and form ongoing relationships with customers. "Powered by RoxioNow™" stores enable consumers to instantly rent and purchase high-quality entertainment on their favorite device and, through the RoxioNow online entertainment library, access their content at any time, on any RoxioNow-powered device. RoxioNow has been selected to power digital entertainment delivery for a range of companies including Best Buy, Blockbuster, Dell, HP, Lionsgate, and Sears/Kmart, and is available on a broad variety of consumer electronics devices.
