Verizon signs deal for exclusive movie premiere

Verizon Communications' FiOS TV customer will have the chance tonight to see an exclusive Disney movie premiere via video-on-demand, three days before it airs on the Disney Channel. The original Disney Channel film is called "The Cheetah Girls One World," and FiOS customers will have access to it at no extra charge. Such advance showings or exclusive premieres are one way telco TV service providers can start to gain notice among customers as purveyors of value-added content.

The idea is not completely new, as satellite TV companies have done it in the past. But telcos have been criticized before for not working closely enough with Hollywood and the rest of the content industry, to establish telcos as valuable content partners. If telcos are willing to pay the price for such deals, it can help them promote their nascent services and gain some friends in the content world.

For more:
- see this story at MediaPost Publications

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