Hollywood majors in Japan boost mobile streaming as DVDs decline

Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan has signed a deal with mobile streaming service QTV to increase the number of its titles available via handsets.

The deal with the Front Media-owned company will see 150 titles, including Michael Jackson’s This Is It!, available for streaming over the next year.

The 2009 box office smash began streaming on NTT DoCoMo handsets on March 13 and will be available to KDDI and Softbank users on March 18. Users pay $4.63 (Y420) for unlimited viewing in a 48-hour period.

Other Sony titles included in the deal are Terminator Salvation, Angels & Demons, Spider-Man, and Stand By Me. Streaming premieres may coincide with theatrical releases of sequels.

Meanwhile, Warner Brothers has also announced it will double the library currently available on its PC and mobile Warner On Demand service by the end of 2010. The service, launched at the end of last November, will offer 400 titles that users can rent or buy and watch on either platform with one purchase.

The move towards mobile streaming comes as the majors look to find new revenue following a significant drop in DVD sales and rentals. Fox Japan and Japanese studio Toei also offer similar services.

According to an annual report issued by the Japan Video Association (JVA) last week, consumer DVD sales plummeted 11.1% in 2009 while rental shop DVD sales fell 6.4%. Overall video software revenue fell by 4.2% to $3.02b (Y273.96b). The latter figure includes the rapidly growing Blu-ray segment, which saw a 146.9% increase in combined consumer and rental shop revenues but still only accounts for 8.8% of the market compared to approximately 14-15% in the US.