Citing piracy concerns, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment will no longer create DVD screeners for retailers. Instead, advance copies of movies will be available on Fox‘s retail Web site for streaming.
"Every year, movie pirates seek out copies of screeners to upload to the Internet and create pirated discs sold around the world, causing great harm to our industry," Devon Scala, manager of fulfillment services at Fox, wrote in a December 13 letter included in the studio‘s monthly retail mailing. "Therefore, we will no longer be creating DVD screeners to be included in our monthly mailer."
A copy of the letter was sent to The Hollywood Reporter by an individual on the Fox retail list who asked not to be identified.
Within 30 days, the letter continued, retailers will be given the exact date when upcoming DVD releases will be available for streaming on the the studio‘s business-to-business Web site. Retailers also will be given details for accessing the films.
Fox Retailers website:
foxretail.com.
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