News Round-Up

Here is a round-up of some other interactive TV-related stories we didn't have room for in this issue:

• Online retailer, Amazon.com, has launched a promotion called "Disc+ On Demand," under which customers who purchase a title on DVD or Blu-ray disc are provided, at no additional charge, with instant on-demand access to a standard-definition version of that title. The on-demand version of the title is automatically added to customers' digital libraries. Currently, around 300 titles can be viewed instantly under the Disc+ On Demand promotion: depending on the title, customers are provided with a 30-day rental or a permanent copy. Video Business's Jennifer Netherby has more.
• The American Film Institute Digital Content Lab, an organization which for more than a decade has played a key role in fostering the development of interactive and multiplatform TV--and interactive media in general--in the US, has published videos from its annual interactive media showcase, the AFI DigiFest (formerly known as the AFI Digital Content Festival), which was held at the Mann Chinese Theater in Hollywood, November 4th and 5th. The videos are available here.
• OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network has formed a partnership with documentary film distribution company, ro*co productions, which it says "will result in a documentary film club: a multiplatform experience including a primetime monthly documentary film series airing on the channel, an online community experience and exclusive footage on OWN.tv, as well as the opportunity for some documentaries to be presented as a nationwide theatrical screening event." More information is available here.