Overdrive unveiled their streaming video service last year and the service allows Canadian and US libraries to offer digital movies to their patrons. The company has just signed a distribution deal with Warner Brothers that will add hundreds of new titles to their catalog, but with a catch. Libraries no longer have to buy the titles in advance.
Libraries will be able to benefit from a new transactional, pay-per-use lending model from OverDrive for the first time. This model eliminates the need to purchase titles in advance of their use and ensures that titles are available instantly to all patrons simultaneously. Libraries can curate the video lists that want to get setup and offer content that will serve their communities.  They can also set user lending policies for Warner Bros. movies to manage costs within their material budgets.
Library patrons across the U.S. and Canada will be able to use PCs, Macs, iPads, iPhones, Android Tablets or nearly any connected device to stream videos from their library. Building on the existing OverDrive catalog, Warner Bros. titles such as I am Sam (Academy Award nomination for Best Actor: Sean Penn), Natural Born Killers (Starring Woody Harrelson and Juliette Lewis, Golden Globe nomination for Best Director: Oliver Stone), Insomnia (starring Al Pacino and Robin Williams, Directed by Christopher Nolan), and Life as a House (SAG Awards nominations for Leading Actor: Kevin Kline; Supporting Actor: Hayden Christensen) will soon be available for lending.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
