Disney movies on IPTV services of MTNL, BSNL

Aksh Optifibre, which offers the icontrol IPTV (Internet television) technology to MTNL and BSNL, will now have Disney movies on its video on demand (VOD) service launched in March. The company has tied up with Disney-ABC International Television (Asia Pacific), which distributes content for The Walt Disney Company.

The agreement will allow icontrol to showcase movies from Walt Disney Pictures, Disney/Pixar, Miramax Films and Touchstone Pictures. These include movies such as Wall.E, 101 Dalmatians, George of the Jungle and Armageddon.

“The Indian television and film audience is vast and sophisticated and we see huge growth opportunities in the next five-10 years for new media initiatives. This new deal means that Indian viewers can enjoy more quality Disney entertainment at the touch of their remotes,” says Rob Gilby, senior vice-president and managing director, Disney-ABC International Television (Asia Pacific), in an official release.

Speaking about the VOD service, Namrata Sen Gupta, deputy general manager, Aksh Optifibre, says, “Movie on demand is a very popular and important feature of the icontrol service. More importantly, it has the rewind, fast forward and pause features, which helps the customer to watch his favourite scenes again and again.”

The VOD section is divided into different categories such as Free VOD, VOD and SVOD, which enable the customer to watch movies at his own convenient time. While on VOD the customer can watch the movie within 24 hours, on SVOD he can watch a pack of movies any number of times in 30 days.

Gupta says that icontrol currently has 330 movies to choose from, including both Hindi and English movies.

In October, Aksh Optifibre had entered into a similar agreement with Sony Pictures Television International (STPI) for movies such as Charlie's Angels, Spiderman and Men in Black.

The company's icontrol service has about 20,000 subscribers across India – including the two cities of MTNL and 18 cities of BSNL.