Mumbai: Warner Bros. has become the first Hollywood studio to make movies available through video-on-demand (VoD) two weeks before the DVD release in Korea. The announcement was made by Warner Bros. Digital Distribution president Thomas Gewecke.

"Korea is the ideal market for us to expand our digital distribution strategy. There is already a broad base of consumers who are immersed in technology and very comfortable getting movies through video-on-demand or similar services, and I am proud of the team that made it possible for us to be the first U.S. studio to offer this service to fans of Warner Bros. movies in Korea," said Gewecke.

Warner plans to launch a test in Korea in the coming weeks, making new release titles available through video-on-demand two weeks before the DVD release. Specific titles will be announced as they become available.

"More than 94% of the households in South Korea have broadband connections. This new service is just one of the ways Warner Bros. is offering more convenience and choices that fit people’s lifestyles," added South Korea Warner Bros. Digital Distribution director Henry Cho.

Additionally, providing reliable, high quality, legitimate digital product to consumers on a timely basis is part of the Studio’s efforts to compete with piracy.

"According to the Korean Film Council, more than 47% of people surveyed said they had downloaded movies from the Internet at least once. This combined with an advanced digital infrastructure makes Korea the perfect market for us to test this service since many Korean consumers are already in the habit of getting their movies digitally," said Warner Home Video Korea managing director Harrison Lee.