PictureBox, a leading premium movies-on-demand TV subscription service, launched on Virgin Media’s TV platform at the start of July. PictureBox provides a broad selection of recent and library feature films and allows subscribers to view films whenever they like from a selection of 28 films at any given time, with seven new titles being added to the line-up each Friday.

This is the first time Virgin Media has offered the service to its customers and Virgin Media is the only UK platform to offer the PictureBox service in High Definition (HD).

Red Bee Media already handles content and metadata for the BBC’s iPlayer service on Virgin Media and this contract further strengthens the companies’ relationship by delivering more assets to Virgin Media’s platform. Red Bee Media also delivers playout services to Virgin Media TV.

Red Bee Media has increased its HD capability in order to deliver the 28 films and associated metadata every month on a weekly refresh cycle. The content is sent by PictureBox to Red Bee Media who transcode, QC and deliver the movies, trailers and key art. The metadata is then stored and reversioned in Red Bee Media’s TeleView metadata platform and delivered to Virgin Media’s cable platform, where it is made available for viewing on demand to PictureBox subscribers.

Said Jeremy Sedgley, Head of Emerging Platforms, Red Bee Media: “Not only has this enabled us to further strengthen our relationship with Virgin Media, it has also allowed us to increase the capability of our HD offering and create a new interface between Red Bee Media and Virgin Media. We’re delighted to be able to help Virgin Media deliver further innovation and benefits to their customers.”

Said Julia Smith, head of TV product at Virgin Media: “Our customers love movies on demand and they’re watching millions of films every year. PictureBox is a great addition to our service and Red Bee Media is the perfect partner to deliver an outstanding experience to our TV customers.”