BBC WORLDWIDE LICENCE SAFECAST DRM

MACROVISION UK, developers and marketers of copy protection, rights management and electronic license management, have announced that BBC Worldwide will license Macrovision’s SAFECAST DRM technology to enable an innovative marketing approach for digital content.
On December 4, BBC Worldwide, the commercial arm of the BBC, launched a DVD video of the ‘Wallace & Gromit’ series of short films by the Oscar-winning Nick Park. Included on the disc is a locked version of the computer game based on the characters.
Gerry Clark from BBC Worldwide said: “By including the PC game and customiser software on the same media, BBC Worldwide are able to add value to the DVD video offering. Wallace and Gromit fans will be presented with an easy impulse purchase option as the software is already on their DVD disc waiting for them to unlock it.”
According to the latest research by Screen Digest, the number of DVD players shipped in the US was approximately eight million units at the end of June, having doubled in the past twelve months. The increase in units sold in Western Europe during last year has also increased by 419 per cent.
Matthew Hall, Sales Executive of Macrovision UK, said: “There are many new revenue opportunities available when SAFECAST technology is used to deliver ‘try-and-buy’ versions of PC games on DVD videos. As BBC Worldwide has recognised early on, certain films and games have an appeal to a similar audience.”
(CD)