Curzon cinemas to relaunch their streaming on demand service: Curzon On Demand | TQS Magazine

Respected chain of London based independent cinemas, Curzon, launched a streaming service to much hoo-ha back in December 2010 with the simultaneous release of In Our Name on the big screen and on their player. However, the service didn’t really take off perhaps due to intense competition from LOVEFiLM’s Instant and more recently, Netflix’s entry into the market. But Curzon are throwing their hat firmly back into in the ring with the official relaunch on the 6th April.

TQS were lucky enough to hear from Curzon’s director of programming Jason Wood at the recent Reel Solutions event held in Leeds and got some insight from the horse’s mouth. Jason is firm believer in finely curated programmes showcasing the best of ‘specialised’ (art-house) film. He went on to say that one of the main inspirations behind Curzon On Demand is to give audiences that live outside of London the opportunity to see quality film.

Jason was also keen to stress that Curzon On Demand is more than just a home cinema experience; the films will also come with Curzon editorial to add that extra value perhaps missing from the incumbent services. We signed up (which was slick and easy to do) to watch last year’s tragically un-critically acclaimed (not even an Oscar nomination!) We Need to Talk about Kevin and we’re impressed by the quality of the streaming.  The extra resources available really set it apart such as this great extended interview between Curzon and Tilda Swinton.

Curzon On Demand is operating on a completely different pricing model to its competitors with a strictly pay-per-view style service. New releases are £6, recent releases are £4 and library items are £2. Whilst we appreciate the value of film, £6 does seem a little steep for streaming a new release.

Go and have a look round the site and catalogue and let us now your thoughts. Will you be tempted away from Netflix/LOVEFiLM?

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