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An Australia-first agreement has today been announced by ReelTime.tv and Yahoo!7 which will result in an exclusive TV and movie broadband download service, available only to Australian residents. The agreement means Yahoo!7 users will be able to download ReelTime.tv’s major Hollywood studio movies and TV programmes to their PCs.

The agreement delivers on Yahoo!7’s launch promise to be a truly Australian online media and entertainment experience rich in video and locally relevant content.

ReelTime.tv has licensing agreements with more Hollywood and independent studios than any other player in the Australian broadband entertainment market. This means more than 1,500 hours of feature length movie and TV content is available for download via ReelTime.tv from Sony, MGM, Twentieth Century Fox, Universal and independents including Icon, Palace, Granada, Dendy and Hopscotch. ReelTime.tv will be adding selections weekly as its library is expanded.

According to Ian Smith, CEO at Yahoo!7, the new agreement benefits from increased broadband penetration, rich media consumption and further strengthens Yahoo!7’s existing entertainment offering: “Yahoo!7 already streams 3.2 million* videos each month across Music, News, Movies and TV. This represents an impressive year-on-year growth of 220 per cent.

“The deal with ReelTime.tv enables us to deliver the most engaging and innovative rich media experience for Australian audiences and advertisers, building on the 9,200 videos we already have available,” concluded Smith.

Yahoo!7 users will be able to access the service via a broadband connection and download movies straight to a PC. This makes movie-watching more convenient than ever - wherever and whenever users want. There is no leaving home, no waiting for scheduled movie times and no late fees. Users simply make a choice, download, and then just press play.

ReelTime.tv’s commercial content is secured by ReelTime’s Digital Rights Management System, preventing copying or abuse and meeting the rigorous standards of the Major Hollywood Studio license terms [the player is MPAA – Motion Picture Association of America – approved] that permit ReelTime to transmit the service via a secure “closed network” broadband. The service also allows the PC to be connected to the television set for full screen enjoyment.

John Karantzis, Managing Director of ReelTime.tv, said: “This deal is a landmark development for ReelTime.tv and we are excited to be bringing broadbandTV to Australia with Yahoo!7. ReelTime.tv can now mass market our service to the 5.6 million** consumers who use the Yahoo!7 website every month. It is the beginning of a unique partnership between Yahoo!7 and ReelTime.tv, which will revolutionise when and where entertainment fans enjoy movies and TV episodes – using either their PC or television set.”

*Yahoo! Internal Data July 2006.

**Neilsen//Netratings July 2006.