CES 2013: CE Industry and Hollywood Announce 'Bold New Partnership'

Execs from five Hollywood studios joined Consumer Electronics Association president and CEO Gary Shapiro for his CES opening keynote to launch an UltraViolet promotion that Warner Home Video president Ron Sanders described as a "bold new partnership between the consumer electronics industry and Hollywood."

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Joining Sanders for the announcement: Steve Beeks, Lionsgate’s co-COO and president of its motion picture group; David Bishop, president, worldwide, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment; Mike Dunn, president of Fox Home Entertainment; and Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment.

STORY: CES 2013: Sony Pictures, Universal, Warner Bros. Choose Dolby Digital Plus for Ultraviolet Content

Making a big push for UltraViolet, they announced a new cross-industry promotion initiated by their studios and several major consumer electronics manufacturers. Per the partnership, consumers who later this year purchase select, connected TVs and Blu-Ray players from participating manufacturers will receive up to 10 free UltraViolet movies as an "UltraViolet starter campaign." Participating partners include LG, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and Vizio.

"It provides extra value to hardware consumers while providing another gateway for movie fans to enjoy their favorite films digitally, anytime, anywhere on the device of their choosing," Sanders said.

UltraViolet — which was launched by industry consortium Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE) in October 2011 — is a developing cloud-based service aimed at letting consumers download and stream their entertainment content anytime, anywhere across supported devices.

Sanders projected that in the coming weeks, UltraViolet would reach 10 million account holders. An estimated 8,500 UltraViolet titles are currently available from BBC, DreamWorks Animation, Fox, Lionsgate, Paramount, Sony Pictures, Starz Anchor Bay, Universal and Warner Bros.