Day-and-Date Download to DVD Debuts

I was pretty surprised when I recently read that Universal and Lovefilm were offering day-and-date movie downloads in the UK. And this morning, in classic cartoon fashion, I did a spit take when I read that six major Hollywood studios inked a deal with Movielink to offer day-and-date downloadable movies in the U.S. as well. The service starts tomorrow.

(Jargon alert: Day and date is an entertainment biz term that means that the same content is being released in multiple media or outlets simultaneously. A related concept is the release window.)

There are some differences with the UK plan. Unlike Universal's Lovefilm deal, there's no mention of eventually making the studios' entire libraries available for download. There's also no mention of mobile viewing.

But there is one important similarity: DRM. You can burn the downloaded movie to DVD, but it's in the Windows Media format, which limits the number of devices you can play it on; and makes the disc unplayable on the DVD player in your living room -- you know, where you generally watch movies. At least in the UK deal, you're simultaneously buying the DVD.

So in a sense, this whole thing works like a Hollywood movie trailer: it promises a lot, but the end result is a little disappointing.

Update: Today CinemaNow announced a similar deal with Sony and Lionsgate. (Sony is also part of the Movielink deal.) Same DRM issues, though.