Online retailer Overstock.com is getting into the content game, announcing plans at a kick-off press conference at NATPE in Miami on Tuesday to offer a video streaming subscription service that will be tied to the site’s Club O loyalty program.
“We have this tremendous traffic and we have a deep understanding of our customers,” said Overstock.com CEO Patrick M. Byrne. “We know what they are looking for.”
Byrne said that Overstock.com has a partnership with an unnamed third party that owns rights to mostly movies but also TV shows, and that it intends to initially launch a download-to-own or –rent service in the middle of this year. The service will also include games, music and other original content. Stage two will be launching a subscription video-on-demand service (SVOD) that may eventually include original programming.
“We chose NATPE because as we’ve been spinning this effort out, we’ve discovered that NATPE is the place to go, it’s where the deal making happens,” said Byrne. “We are here to deepen our relationships in this industry. When this gets launched, we intend to be a player in original content.”
Read the full story at B&C.
