New HBO Competitor to Launch Online

According to a report on ArsTechnica.com, Viacom, Metro Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and Lions Gate Entertainment are set to launch a joint venture online while the team looks for a cable distribution deal.

The joint venture, called Studio 3 Networks, will launch online as "epix" before it arranges a TV distribution deal. The network has said it will provide movies and original content online with the distribution deal expected to come later this year.

Studio 3 Networks President Mark Greenberg said that the name epix embodies the "depth and breath of entertainment content" that the companies will deliver and is also meant to evoke the different ways customers will eventually interact with the content on multiple platforms. "With epix, we are creating an entirely new category of entertainment service for consumers that is unlike anything that currently exists," Greenberg said in a statement. "Epix is the first brand to hold exclusive exhibition rights to movie content that can be delivered anywhere, anytime."

The online launch is expected to come in May with a TV debut expected in the 4th quarter of 2009. At the time of the launch, viewers will have access to both recent releases and classic films. Customers will also get access to directors' notes, outtakes, and various other extras.

The companies involved in the venture have not commented on what kind of original TV programming has been planned.

As noted by PaidContent, wannabe networks used to be out of luck if they couldn't find a cable distribution deal or something on satellite, but they can now default to launching something online in hopes of scoring a deal later. It has yet to be seen whether epix manages to sell distribution rights to its original programming by the time fall rolls around.