Verizon hasn’t signed on for this version yet. Many of the films are being converted from analog to digital, and some films that are already digital are being re-encoded for higher quality. But expanding to 3,000-plus by next June sounds like a tall order given that Epix only has about 200 titles for the rotation now with plans to hit 500 by year’s end.

The current broadband service, which started private beta in late spring, is meant to directly complement the Epix channel by making available for on-demand streaming the same movies that are programmed for television that month. It helps, says Rensing, that “from day one, I can make every piece of programming I’ve got available online.” Through the JV, Epix has the rights to thousands of movies from new releases to classics across any outlet. As various studio deals with Showtime and others wind down, the number increases. 

Unlike the other premium movie channels, says Rensing, “We don’t do the multiplex channel thing.” (A cynic might say, “Good thing, it’s hard enough to get one new channel in a lineup.”) Instead, Epix is relying on offering on-demand streaming and television VOD as a way to to provide more choices.

“The notion of being able to deliver anytime, anywhere is pretty compelling,” says Rensing. But
will a megaplex stocked with Ironman, The Godfather, Raiders of the Lost Ark and the newest Star Trek be enough to push Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA), Time Warmer, DirecTV (NYSE: DTV) or any of the other providers off the dime? Not unless it makes financial sense to them. And, unfortunately for movie fans, when I asked Rensing whether making the site available direct-to-consumer was an option, the negative answer didn’t need conversion to digital to be clear.