Sony plans to extend Connect music service to video

by Staff,, Brand Republic 15-Jul-04, 08:00

NEW YORK - Sony is to offer a video download service alongside its music downloads within the next year, according to reports.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Sony Pictures Entertainment chief executive Michael Lynton says that the electronics giant will extend the Sony Connect offering.

"Sony Connect will not be just a music service but also a video business within the next year," he told the newspaper.

Sony is looking at the potential of acquiring Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in a $5bn deal, which would give the company access to the world's largest library of modern films, comprising about 4,000 titles, including the James Bond library. Added to its existing library, which Lynton said that Sony Pictures Entertainment would be overhauling, it would have access to huge archive of content, easily outstripping what rivals could offer.

The company was the first record label to set up its own online music download service, competing with other legitimate sites such as iTunes, owned by Apple, and Napster.

Sony Pictures has just released 'Spider-Man 2' in the UK, and is also behind films such as 'Men in Black' and 'Charlie's Angels'.

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