ITV Launch Online DVD Rental Service

ITV, the UK’s biggest commercial TV operator, launched its anticipated assault on the online DVD rental market today through its tie-up with Video Island.

The ITV Movie Club website, which was expected to launch last year, went live today and will go head-to-head with established operators such as Tesco and Amazon.

As well as a DVD rental service the site will offer clips from every film broadcast on ITV’s range of channels.

ITV MovieClub will offer consumers a choice of over 28,000 titles – a number ITV claimed is five to ten times higher than those available from local video stores.

Colin Ramsey, head of online sales at ITV Sales, said the new website: "will provide a host of new and innovative advertising and sponsorship opportunities" for the ITV brand.

Saul Klein, chief executive of Video Island, said the MovieClub offered: "an extremely convenient and cost effective way to watch even more films".

Members will be able to watch independently sourced video reviews before renting, a move designed to let them make informed decisions about whether a movie will appeal to them.

The website will also offer the latest movie news, highlights of films coming up on ITV channels, video clips of the latest DVD releases, and interviews with Hollywood stars.

Video Island, ITV’s partner in the online venture, merged with competitor ScreenSelect in August last year. Since launch, Video Island and its partners have shipped close to 3.5m rentals and already represent 4% of the total UK DVD rental market.

Tesco DVD Rental Site (unlimited rentals, £7.97 a month, 1 film out at a time): tescodvdrental.com

Amazon DVD Rental Site (4 rentals, £7.99 a month, max 2 films at once): amazon.co.uk.

ITV Movie Club (5 rentals a month for £9.99, max 2 films at once) : itvmovieclub.com.