Under the agreement, seafarers will have ready access to a steady supply of the latest-release movies for fully licensed onboard viewing
KVH Media Group, distributor of licensed films to the maritime market, and part of KVH Industries, Inc., has announced an agreement with Thome Ship Management to provide 41 Thome vessels with the MOVIElink service. Part of the Thome Group, Thome Ship Management will initially roll out the MOVIElink service to product tankers and LPG carriers.
The MOVIElink service delivers films, including the latest releases, to vessels around the world, contributing to more productive and loyal crews, and assisting shipping companies in complying with the standards and recommendations of MLC-2006. These recommendations include providing regularly replenished film entertainment to crew members.
“Thome Group is committed to ensuring our seafarers have an excellent work environment, and crew welfare services are a key part of that mission. We see the MOVIElink service as an ideal way to keep crew morale and welfare at a high level,” said Claes Eek Thorstensen, president of the Thome Group. “And, more satisfied seafarers’ loyalty contributes to lower costs for recruitment, training, and retention.”
An important aspect of the MOVIElink service is that the content provided is licensed in accordance with the requirements of copyright holders. Shipping companies have become increasingly aware of the potential liabilities they face under international copyright laws and treaties for any unlicensed viewing of movie downloads, DVDs, and video cassettes, including those that crew members bring onboard. With content provided by the MOVIElink service, vessels receive the required license for non-theatrical viewing on commercial vessels.
“We are delighted to work with Thome, who are at the forefront of providing effective tools to combat crew morale issues,” says Rob Parkin, sales director at KVH Media Group. “Additionally, Thome fully understand the issues relating to licensing and are keen to ensure that they offer their crew a fully licensed, great quality and cost-effective service.”
KVH Media Group’s MOVIElink films are provided in a range of formats, from delivery of hard-copy DVDs direct to ship agents anywhere in the world, to a fully digital service for fleets with VSAT communications capacity. KVH Media Group has been delivering movie entertainment to seafarers for more than 50 years – beginning with the Walport movie service, which delivered films to crews on reels and became the backbone of ‘Walport movie nights,’ which are still fondly remembered today for bringing crew together in their leisure time onboard. MOVIElink content is also available via KVH’s IP-MobileCastTM content delivery service, which utilizes multicasting technology to deliver large multimedia files via KVH’s mini-VSAT Broadbandsm satellite communications service.
