Pay-For-View.com later this year will launch a Web portal that it says will offer consumers complete information about everything related to the pay-per-view industry.
The portal, TotalPPV.com, will offer consumers such PPV programming information as system-specific start times and prices, as well as streaming video of movie trailers and promotional spots from all films or events on any PPV service.
Consumers would also be able to purchase any event or movie via the site, said Total-PPV.com CEO Sid Amira.
The service-which will officially launch in late August or early September-is platform- and content-neutral and features information for cable, direct-broadcast satellite and Internet-based PPV offerings, he added.
The site's opening page features links that would enable consumers to get information based on a particular distributor, such as In Demand or DirecTV Inc.; a specific movie or event; or by cable operator.
The site will also house two areas in which advertisers can promote either their full complement of TotalPPV.com's services or a specific movie or event, Amira said.
Content providers won't be charged for placement on TotalPPV.com, Amira added. He hopes that policy will persuade all PPV-related companies to join in.
TotalPPV.com would generate additional revenue by taking a small cut from any PPV order or digital upgrade generated by the site.
"Each entity will have control over their particular page, or we can provide the support," Amira said.
The portal was developed to create greater awareness of the PPV industry. The hope is that the heightened visibility will, in turn, generate higher buy-rates.
Amira also said the enhanced promotion of PPV offerings could serve to bolster operators' bid to sell digital- cable upgrades to consumers interested in access to a greater variety of PPV fare.
"We're trying to get the industry together under one entity to promote the category," Amira said. "We're a turnkey service for the whole PPV industry."
Though the company has yet to ink any firm agreements with studios, distributors or operators, Amira said the companies that have been pitched on the idea have been "enthusiastic."
Several deals could be announced within the next three to four weeks, he said.
An executive from a PPV event distributor said he is intrigued by the proposal.
"We would be interested in anything that can help us get the message about our events across to the consumer," said the executive.
