Spencer Wang is one of the smartest media folks I know.  After 15 years leading media and Internet analyst teams, for the likes of Bear Stearns and Credit Suisse, he recognized that – like other forms of media (television, books, music, etc.) – film was searching for a way to segue from physical release to online/digital delivery.  So, after quite a bit of research, he’s created Wavelength - a service with value for both the creators (studios) and the consumers (us).

Wang decided that UltraViolet (Hollywood’s standard for digital movies) – in addition to being supported by all of the major film studios, as well as retailers including Target, BestBuy, Flixster, and WalMart/Vudu – offered consumers a great value.  UltraViolet allows users online access to films, across multiple platforms; while supporting multiple users on each account.

As a licensee of the Digital Entertainment Content Ecosystem (DECE), Wavelength is able to run any movie formatted for UltraViolet.  In other words, any movie in the “home entertainment window” (as soon as three months after theatrical release), produced by a major Hollywood studio that supports UltraViolet, is Wavelength-compatible.

Spencer realized that the ability to share digital movies (like we do with our DVDs) is a key factor of the ownership model.  It is most profitable for the creators of the content and the studios alike, when we purchase movies – whether the format is digital or physical.  Unfortunately (for them), with our ability to access movies more cheaply (rentals, video-on-demand, piracy, etc.), movie purchases have been on the decline for nearly a decade, while the home entertainment business that used to make-up more than 50% of film studio revenues, has shrunk to below 33%.

So, to reverse the downward trend in home entertainment, there needs to be value-added incentives for consumers, reasons for them to buy and own films, instead of simply watching them through VOD services and rentals – and Wavelength has zeroed-in on sharing, as a vital means by which to achieve this.  By combining UltraViolet’s inherent functionality with the social community built around collecting films, consumers will once again become interested in purchasing movies; which will, in turn, improve the economics for everyone from the studios to the retailers to the artists, and result in more and better films for us to watch.

Now, I’m not saying that we need to shed any tears for the mega-conglomerates that own the studios; but, as Spencer says, “We need a healthy ecosystem that enables people to make their living creating films, or else there will be no films.”   

Enter Wavelength, currently in its beta-version.  Luckily for all of us, it is also currently a free service.  But there is limited access to the Wavelength beta, so it’s highly recommended that you sign-up now.  Not only do you get free movies upon sign-up (while supplies last), but your “collection” will grow as more of your friends join, because you’ll have access to their movies. 

I was never any good at sharing my toys; but with digital media, it seems like a no-brainer.  Who knew?  (Yeah, yeah, Spencer…  I know.  You did!)

Social Movie Sharing
Wavelength (beta)
Click HERE to try it out

Get into it!