mSpot Lowers Video On Demand Pricing For Newly Released Movies

TechCrunch

Mobile entertainment startup mSpot, which lets users stream and watch full-length movies on their mobile phones and on the web, is lowering the pricing for newly released movies today, making the startup’s movies more of a bargain than movies available on competitors like iTunes.

mSpot says that average pricing for instantly streamed new releases is typically $3.99 and now mSpot users can get many new releases for as low as $3.00 as part of their mSpot membership. In case you aren’t familiar with the service, mSpot has struck deals with Sony, Disney, Paramount, NBC/Universal, Lionsgate, Warner, Image Entertainment, and Screen Media Ventures to stream full-length movie rentals to users’ PCs and cell phones, allowing you to switch between both devices as you pick up and leave off throughout a movie.

The service works on over 50 different handset devices – including the iPhone, Blackberry, Palm, Android, Windows Mobile and others. Now, users can stream individual new release movies for $3.99 each (or old movies for as low as $1.99) or join a monthly Movie Club: $4.99/month for up to 4 movies, $7.99 for 8 movies, or $15.99 for 16 movies. With the mSpot Movies Club, the startup says users can save money on streaming rentals by purchasing pre-paid credits for a select number of rentals every month, based on their plan.

mSpot says that new releases on mSpot Movies are often available the day DVDs go on sale, which means that people can watch these movies 28 days before subscription services like Netflix offer the same DVD.

The startup is playing in a competitive space both in terms of its movie (iTunes and Netflix) and music streaming services. With the launch of Amazon’s digital music locker, mSpot has been left with another competitor, and is taking measures to mitigate this competition. For example, mSpot just lowered the prices of storage for its music service. I have a feeling that lowering the prices of newly released movies is another way the startup is hoping to fend off the competition.

April 15, 2011

www.TechCrunch.com