Vivid was spotlighted in particular for is recent deal with video-on-demand company CinemaNow to sell burnable movies as part of the company’s recent launch of an adult service. If the service garners a sufficient following of subscribers, it eventually will offer features similar to many adult VOD services, like pay-per-minute and scene saving options.
In the article, the Times lauds Vivid as an example of how the adult entertainment industry has not only led the pack in terms of its innovative online business models, but also how company’s like Vivid might someday set the “technological pace for Hollywood,” which hasn't fully explored more expansive online distribution opportunities because of its concerns over piracy.
This, the article points out, is where adult entertainment has the upper hand, having long ago pioneered the web in terms of exploiting every potential revenue stream for letting consumers access content, and the myriad ways to profit from it.
“Letting people burn downloaded movies is considered key to the growth of online distribution,” the Times writers Claire Hoffman and Dawn Chmielewski report. “Hollywood has resisted burnable discs that can be watched on televisions because they fear piracy. It also doesn't want to alienate retailers, which sell most of its DVDs. But if history is any guide, the online experiment by adult entertainment giant Vivid Entertainment Group will be watched closely by mainstream studio chiefs.”
As part of its deal with CinemaNow, Vivid will offer 30 downloadable videos for about $19.95 apiece that include everything that is on a standard DVD, including cover art, scene navigation, bonus material and deleted scenes.
The finished disc will be copy-protected to avoid piracy.
"Three years ago, DVDs were responsible for 90 percent of our income," Vivid President and CEO Steven Hirsch told the Times. "This year, it will account for 30 percent of our sales. With the Internet there is no distributor between you and the consumer, so you can keep a larger part of the revenue stream."
Other adult companies mentioned in the article included Chatsworth-based Red Light District and LFP Internet Group for their own explorations into safe, piracy-free digital delivery methods.