Akimbo Adds HD Content
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/26/2006 11:10:00 PM
Internet-delivered VOD company Akimbo has struck a deal for high-definition content from Mark Cuban's HDNet.
It will be the first high-def programing deal for Akimbo, which delivers more than 9,000 shows over the internet to subscribers (it won't say how many).Akimbo negotiates directly with programmers for content, then delivers it to a set-top player or Microsoft Media Center that downloads, stores and plays video content over a TV.
Content partners include Discovery, Turner--CNN, Cartoon, TCM--National Geographic, the BBC, and now HDNet, Cuban's all-HD all-the-time programming network.
According to Akimbo CEO Josh Goldman, the company is also making its premium Major League Baseball content available free to current subs and the first 5,000 new sign-ups as part of a limited promotion. That content includes game summaries, "condensed" contests, and classic matchups.
Akimbo charges a monthly fee, then a per-program fee for some of the content. Say, two free episodes of Fawlty Towers, then 49 cents-per for the remainder.
Goldman says Akimbo will unveil a deal with a "major telco" in the next few weeks.
