Anchorage Daily News

Alaska's biggest cable, telephone and Internet company has quietly launched a new tool that lets its customers order movies and some TV programs from a menu by pointing a remote at a cable box.

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Bob Ormberg, vice president of content and product development at GCI, said the company will increase the overall amount of video content in the coming months.

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The technology, called Video on Demand, differs from pay-per-view programming because it enables viewers to decide when they want to watch the program.

Introduced in the Lower 48 about seven years ago, Video on Demand made its cable TV debut in Alaska at the end of March.

It's like "Pay Per View on steroids," said Robert Ormberg, the vice president of content and product management for General Communications Inc.

Many digital media fans see "on demand" tools -- from Internet podcasts to downloadable movies and TV programs -- as the wave of the future for entertainment.

"The reality is consumers want more choice," Ormberg said, predicting that some day, few will choose to sit down for a regularly scheduled TV program.

The main constraint on Video on Demand's growth so far is for cable companies and other purveyors to get permission to distribute content from studios and other video-content providers, he said.

For now, GCI's Video on Demand does not include content from many of the major TV networks and it offers only a small amount of "on demand" TV programming to people who do not subscribe to premium stations, such as HBO and Starz.

GCI is pitching the service as a convenient alternative to renting a movie at a video store. While some of the content is free, movies cost $1.99 and up.

So far, at least one Alaska video store owner says it isn't anxious about losing business.

Blockbuster makes its money by providing customers a huge selection of movies and other rentals, said Craig Cobb, the vice president of Border Entertainment, which owns Blockbuster's Alaska franchise of 17 stores.

GCI is offering some "nice titles" but nothing like the 10,000 titles that people can choose from a Blockbuster store, Cobb said.

The cable company isn't the only way to get "on-demand" movies or TV programs, he said, noting that at least a dozen Web sites allow people to watch them on the Internet.

One local satellite provider, The Dish Network, offers its subscribers both TV programs and movies on demand. The other local satellite provider, DirectTV, plans to launch its version of "on demand" video toward the end of the second quarter of the year, company officials said.

SCANT PUBLICITY

GCI has kept Video on Demand quiet while it monitors for flaws or kinks in the new technology, but so far it seems to be working well, and more publicity about it is planned soon, Ormberg said.

Despite the scant publicity, GCI's monitoring shows that hundreds of people are already using Video on Demand, with big spikes after 10 p.m. and when school lets out, he said.

GCI will increase the overall amount of video content in the coming months, and the content also will refresh each month, he said.

Acquiring the new digital technology was a major decision for GCI.

GCI had to free up bandwidth, negotiate contracts with studios, upgrade its servers and purchase new cable boxes that could handle the content, Ormberg said.

GCI spent roughly $10 million on the launch, Ormberg said.

The new content is accessible at station 777 and it is only available to GCI's basic and premium cable subscribers.

People with old cable boxes may need to swap them out -- at no charge -- to use the feature.

Anyone who has difficulty accessing the programs should call GCI to troubleshoot the problem, said Kate Lynch, GCI's product development manager.

Now if only they could invent a way to order a pizza with a remote.

Find Elizabeth Bluemink online at adn.com/contact/ebluemink or call 257-4317.

How Video on Demand works

• Select channel 777

• Select the "ON" button on the quick guide

• Select the "ON Demand" button on the full guide

• To move between menu options, use the arrow buttons on the remote. To move back to a prior menu, press the "Last" button.

• Programs can be paused, fast forwarded and rewound.

PROGRAMS AVAILABLE NOW

• Currently, over 1,200 hours of programs are available, ranging from Hollywood classics to the PBS kids show, "Bob the Builder."

FREE PROGRAMS

• Includes some content from the following content providers: NFL Network, Speed, National Geographic, PBS Kids Sprout, Caught on Demand

• Also, HBO, Cinemax, Showtime and Starz if a customer already subscribes to these channels.

PAID PROGRAMS

• Movies, including new releases and older classics, with prices ranging from $2.99 to $4.99. Customers can watch the movies once or multiple times over 24 to 72 hours, depending on the selection.

• Events, including replays of boxing and wrestling matches, concerts and other specials. Prices start at $9.95.

• A library of up to 300 hours of programs from premium cable channels, free to customers who subscribe to those channels.

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