Digital entertainment took an evolutionary leap when AOL disclosed agreements with four major studios to offer downloaded movies and on-demand television from a single Internet portal.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group will offer downloadable movies through AOL Video, including such titles as ``Hitch,’’ ``Spider-Man 2,’’ ``Batman Forever,’’ ``The Matrix,’’ ``American Pie’’ and ``Doctor Dolittle.’’

AOL executive vice-president Kevin Conroy said the deals were fulfilling the Internet’s promise as a platform for new entertainment opportunities.

``I personally see this as a particularly important milestone, not only for the online video marketplace but also for AOL,’’ he said.

``Consumers will see that they have more choice — easier to find, on-demand, enjoyable to consume entertainment.’’

Prices will range from $9.99-$19.99 for movies that can be viewed on as many as five computers and compatible devices but not played on traditional DVD players.

Conroy said the content owners determined the rules and that AOL could support anything the studios wished to offer.

Warner Bros already has a strong relationship with Time Warner corporat sibling AOL through the In2TV online television service and elsewhere.

AOL Video also is extending its television programming.

Fox Entertainment Group and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment content will be available in branded video on demand (VOD) channels and added to the AOL Video portal’s online interactive programming guide, which aggregates ad-supported, free and download-to-own video content.

Conroy said additional branded channels will launch before year’s end. There already are about 50 channels as part of the service, and consumers also can create their own personal playlists.

Sony will have two channels at first, with such shows as ``Charlie’s Angels,’’ ``Starsky & Hutch,’’ ``Who’s the Boss,’’ ``Action’’ and ``NewsRadio.’’

Sony’s channels will not include current television shows at this time because some relevant issues were still ``a conversation between all the financial partners,’’ said Benjamin Feingold, president of digital distribution and acquisitions at Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

Fox has initial plans for five channels, ranging from such current shows as ``24’’ and ``Prison Break’’ to library content including ``Hill Street Blues’’ and ``Buffy the Vampire Slayer.’’

Conroy said he looked forward to the future of the online video space now that a significant number of households have broadband and a growing percentage are linking their computer to their television.

``I’m quite certain that the business models will continue to evolve,’’ he said.

``The good news is that we have two good business models today — ad-supported and premium downloads — that provide incentives for content owners and distributors to do this now.’’

CinemaNow and Movielink already offer a library of movies available for download, but Conroy said integration throughout AOL provided ``lots of windows through which people can look to find what they’re interested in.’’

News Corp also has an initiative to offer downloadable movies and TV shows throughout the Fox Interactive Media family of online properties, starting at Direct2Drive but scheduled to extend to MySpace and elsewhere. Reuters