Jesus Film Project on the Internet

Jim West draws my attention to this from the Corvallis Gazette Times:

Much-seen film ‘Jesus' will go onto Internet

Twenty-five years since its theatrical release, the world's most-watched movie, "Jesus," will make its Internet debut Tuesday.

The effort will allow people to see the two-hour film online in more than 300 separate language translations.

The article is a puzzle because Jesus has in fact been available on the internet for years, one of two Jesus films that is available wholly like this. (Quiz question: what's the other?). I looked to the Jesus Film Project website for clarification and see the same story in more detail in a press release there:

World's Most-Translated Film Makes Internet Debut
On 25th Anniversary, Film Premieres on the Web in More than 300 Languages

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., Oct. 13, 2004—Celebrating 25 years since its theatrical release, the world’s most-watched movie, JESUS, with more than 5 billion impressions globally, is making its Internet debut, Oct. 19. In conjunction with Salem Web Network and Caliber Media Group, The JESUS Film Project will use a Streaming OS System to make JESUS available online (www.JesusFilm.org) in more than 300 separate language translations.

“To our knowledge, a film has never been freely available on the Internet in so many different languages,” said Jim Green, executive director of The JESUS Film Project. “The 300 plus translations available represent the heart language of more than 90 percent of the world’s population.”

It seems that what is being advertised is the film's twenty-fifth anniversary, and a bigger internet release, i.e. more different language versions (now over 300). But it is manifestly incorrect to speak about this as an "internet debut" and it is to be regretted that this marketing strategy does not take representing itself accurately seriously enough.