Virgin Media customers are being given the opportunity to watch the blockbuster movie, Clash of the Titans, 3 days before its general release onto DVD and Blu-ray.

The move is pretty much unheard of in the UK market, where the movie distribution pattern usually goes: Cinema - DVD/Blu-ray - TV.

However, Virgin Media has come to an arrangement with Warner Bros. whereby people can purchase the DVD through its movies on demand service for £14.95 and have access to watch the movie via their set-top boxes as many times as they want in a 48-hour period. They will then be sent the physical DVD they have paid for upon its release on 26 July.

If you were going to buy the movie anyway, this sounds like a brilliant deal (if you were going to pay £14.95 that is).

Aleks Habdank, director of on demand television and strategy at Virgin Media said:

“We’re always looking to bring the best films to our customers and we’re delighted to be offering them the first screening of Clash of the Titans on demand in the home".

"Virgin Media has a long track record of innovation and we’re actively exploring new commercial deals that make the most of our TV on demand platform".

"Clash of the Titans is a fantastic addition to our service and, with over 500 movies on demand and now the chance to buy a Hollywood blockbuster on DVD, film fans will never be stuck for choice”.

We think it's a good idea and we're hopeful that Virgin Media (or Sky for that matter) increases the amount of titles available for this style of distribution in the near future.

We asked our Virgin contacts if this was the case and they hinted that it was. A spokesman told us:

"We're always looking to bring our customers the best films to our customers and we'll continue to look at new deals in the future".

With the UltraViolet coalition going live with its plans recently as well, it's an exciting time for movie lovers who want more options than simply buying their favourite films on optical disks".