Lovefilm
 |
|
| Subsidiary of Amazon.com | |
| Industry | Electronic commerce |
| Fate | Folded into Amazon Instant Video; DVD mail business still remains |
| Successor | Amazon Instant Video UK and Amazon Instant Video Germany |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Founder | Graham Bosher Alex Chesterman Paul Gardner Saul Klein William Reeve Simon Franks Antony Ceravolo |
| Defunct | February 26, 2014 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
|
Area served
|
UK and Germany. |
|
Key people
|
Simon Morris, CMO; Fern O'Sullivan Operations Director |
| Products | DVD-by-mail; video on demand |
| Services |
PlayStation 3 – November 2010 Xbox 360 – December 2011 iPad – September 2011 Wii U – November 2012 iPhone – November 2013 Xbox One – Q4 2013 PlayStation 4 – Q4 2013 |
| Parent | Amazon.com |
| Divisions | Lovefilm UK Lovefilm Germany |
| Website | http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/bypost/storefront?node=3054240031 |
Lovefilm was a United Kingdom-based provider of DVD-by-mail and streaming video on demand in the United Kingdom and Germany.
Acquired by Amazon.com in 2011, the service had reached 2 million subscribers. It also claimed over 70,000 titles, and over 4 million DVD, Blu-ray or game rentals per month in five countries. Through a series of acquisitions, Lovefilm quickly became the leading online DVD rental and streaming outlet in the UK and Europe.
The company offered a download service alongside postal delivery but this ceased on 23 February 2009. The company has started a "watch online" service which offers over 4,700 films available to watch as part of a subscription. This online viewing is available free for subscribers who have opted for one of their unlimited monthly rental plans or the unlimited streaming-only account.
In February 2014, Amazon announced that it would fold Lovefilm's streaming service into its Instant Video service on 26 February 2014.
Lovefilm's DVD rental service continues to be available in both the United Kingdom and Germany under the Lovefilm brand from Amazon's local websites.
Lovefilm has grown due to 10 mergers, and the acquisition of several other on-line DVD rental companies – the three main ones being Online Rentals Limited (the original company), ScreenSelect and Video Island.
In May 2002, Paul Gardner and Graham Bosher launched Online Rentals Limited (trading as DVDsOnTap), based in Harlow, Essex.
In September 2003, William Reeve and Alex Chesterman launched ScreenSelect, based in Acton in West London. And in the same month Redbus Group launched Video Island, based in Kings Cross in central London.
In October 2003, Online Rentals Ltd was bought by Arts Alliance Ventures, a family-owned private equity firm. In December 2003, DVDsOnTap rebranded to Lovefilm, appointed Mark Livingstone as CEO, and relocated to much larger premises in the Spire Green Business Park in Harlow, Essex.
ScreenSelect led what became a clutch of mergers across the UK DVD rental industry. In December 2003, this began with the acquisition of In-Movies. In September 2004, ScreenSelect followed up with the merger with Video Island, which combined ScreenSelect's management and brand with Video Island's venture capital.
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Wikipedia