PEVE Entertainment 2013 – London. UltraViolet will be launched in France and Germany by the end of Q3 this year, according to Mark Teitell, general manager and executive director, Digital Entertainment Content System (DECE).
In a wide ranging presentation on the technology, which allows purchasers of packaged media a lifetime licence to view their product electronically, he added that the goal is to also introduce UltraViolet in surrounding countries in Central and Western Europe in the near future.
UltraViolet is already firmly established in the UK, where it was launched in December 2011, with the BBC, Sony, 20th Century Fox, Universal and Warner Bros using the technology.
Elsewhere in the world, said Teitell, it had gone live in Australia and New Zealand around two months ago but has yet to be launched, with two companies already showing an interest.
However, it is in the US – and indeed Canada – where UltraViolet is making the greatest progress.
In the US, eight retailers are now offering over 9,000 titles from seven Hollywood studios and two other major content owners.
Furthermore, there are over 12 million account holders. Teitell said there are three ways to add UltraViolet titles to UltraViolet collections, namely UV rights with Blu-Ray/DVD, EST and disc-to-digital.
Worldwide, over 50 licences have so far been issued for over 120 Ultraviolet titles.
