Jeffrey Bewkes, Time Warner’s chairman and chief executive, confirmed to analysts during a conference call that the company is to debut use of the cloud-based multi-device UltraViolet digital distribution system in the fourth quarter of this year.

Beginning with the releases of Horrible Bosses and Green Lantern, the “vast majority” of Warner’s future home video new releases will be UV-enabled, said Bewkes. Green Lantern could be seen as an odd choice as the film fell short of expectations at the box-office, he said.

“We're working hard to make digital ownership of movies more compelling for consumers. As part of that effort, we've been a proponent of the ultraviolet initiative to enable consumers to purchase movies and TV shows and then access them from the cloud on a wide range of devices,” Bewkes explains.

A key part of Warner plan to drive usage of UltraViolet is Flixster, which the company purchased in May. “Today, Flixster is one of the most popular applications for finding informations about movies. And over the coming months, we'll begin to roll out new upgraded versions of the Flixster service, which will be deeply integrated with ultraviolet,” Bewkes said. “

Warner will start launching the first beta version this week. “We believe this could fundamentally change how people manage and watch their movie collections, and it could significantly improve the value proposition of digital ownership.”

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Story filed 04.08.11