High street retailer HMV, under pressure from the likes of Tesco, Amazon and eBay, has revealed it is partnering with VOD provider FilmFlex Movies on a new on-demand online movie service called hmvon-demand.

The service will launch in January 2012 with titles available online at the same time as their DVD release. Sony Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney, Warner Bros, eOne and Momentum Pictures have signed up so far with more content owners likely to follow. FilmFlex, a JV between Sony and Disney, will handle digital rights for HMV.

In the first phase, the service will only be available to HMV loyalty-card customers, an estimated 2m audience.