Quickflix will stream movies to Sony Playstation 3 (PS3) consoles later this year as part of a partnership deal with Sony Computer Entertainment.
“Over 1.3 million Australian consumers who own an internet connectable Playstation 3 will have access to Quickflix’s on demand movie streaming service,” said Quickflix chief executive Chris Taylor in an announcement.
“This is a significant moment in the evolution of IPTV delivered entertainment and a major development for our company.”
The deal follows an agreement struck between Quickflix and Sony Australia in July, which enabled Quickflix to digitally distribute movies through Sony’s Qriocity streaming service across a range of Sony devices, including VAIO computers and televisions connected to Sony Bravia Internet Video (SBIV) (or SBIV-capable Blu-ray players and Home Theatres).
Quickflix began streaming in 2009 when it offered a digital copy of David Fincher’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button for rent, but has so far been geared toward online DVD and Blu-ray rentals from its library of over 50 000 titles.
The shift toward digital distribution, well underway in the US, will challenge Australian rivals such as Telstra BigPond Movies, which has over 2000 titles and earlier this year sold its DVD-delivery service to Quickflix.
Subscribers to Quickflix’s rental service will enjoy unlimited viewings of an evolving catalogue of movies. Viewers will be able to access the service through the Playstation 3 Xross media bar (XMB) interface, alongside two existing on demand services, MUBI and the Playstation Network Video Delivery Service (PSN VDS).