Movie Downloads Next for Napster?

Napster CEO Chris Gorog says that his company is considering adding movie downloads to Napster's music library in the coming future.

"We are currently considering moving into video, particularly to tap the younger video game generation," Gorog said at the Midem music conference in Cannes, according to the Financial Times.

News of Napster's interest in video first cropped up earlier this month in a lawsuit from SightSound Technologies. Napster was in licensing discussions with SightSound, which holds patents for the distribution of digital media, and things apparently went sour when Napster wanted to include video licenses as part of the deal.

Online movies have already been somewhat successful in the United States, with companies such as CinemaNow offering downloads through Microsoft's Windows Media Player. "I do think that while there are huge players in the delivery of movies like Sky, there could be a role for Napster," said Gorog.

These legal services, however, will have to go up against rampant illegal movie sharing across peer-to-peer networks. The MPAA has tried in recent months to crack down on P2P services, such as BitTorrent, but has only been mildly successful in its efforts.

Even with the problem of file sharing, some analysts believe legal downloads for movies could prove to be a wise move, citing wider availability of broadband as the main reason.

According to the MPAA, nearly one in four Internet users have already downloaded a movie.