Hollywood has had some bad ideas over the years, but this one may take the cake -- do they still eat cake anymore in tinseltown? Too many calories are bad for the figure and one must look good on the red carpet. VOD has done rather well for the folks at Netflix, Amazon, and VUDU, but the next generation of video-on-demand has us scratching our heads. The details are still a bit sketchy, but according to a story published yesterday in Variety, four of the largest studios have come up with a plan to offer Premium VOD starting this month on DIRECTV; with access on Comcast to follow soon after. The new service is called Home Premiere.
The teaser from the studios sounds great at first, but the details are kinda ridiculous and we can't imagine that film distributors and the major theater chains are going to take this lying down.
Warner Bros., Sony, Universal, and 20th Century Fox have agreed to offer this new service which will offer movies two months after their theatrical release. The number of days you can view the film will be different; each studio is going to set its own numbers. The price per rental? Hold your breath. $30 per rental. We are so not kidding.
DirecTV has a customer base of almost 20 million subscribers, and Comcast plans to offer the service in select cities on a trial basis starting in late-April.
The studios argue that not everyone can make it to theaters right away when a new film opens, and that the high cost of concessions, gas, and a babysitter deter a lot of people from attending; which means that they are more likely to catch the film for the first time on home video. There was no mention of high ticket prices in the press release from the studios. Go figure.
On the one hand, the studios have a valid point. Films earn 90% or more of their box office in the first 90 days, so the theater chains will really not be losing that much money when the films become available at home.
The National Association of Theater Owners would beg to differ with the studios and released the following statement at CinemaCon (which has been taking place all week). "These plans fundamentally alter the economic relationship between exhibitors, filmmakers and producers, and the studios taking part in this misguided venture."
NATO, who are busy bombing Libya (oh wait... different NATO) and having a good time at CinemaCon, completely disagrees with the studios' rationale, accusing them of "accelerating the already intense need to maximize revenues on every screen opening weekend and driving out films that need time to develop -- like many of the recent Academy Award-nominated pictures."
At least one studio seems to agree with the theater owners; Paramount has decided not to participate in the Home Premiere program, out of concern that entrepreneurial film pirates will get their hands on digital copies long before they are available on DVD/Blu-ray [editor's note: they'll do that anyway, with or without this program in effect].
The studios have decided to make one concession to the theater chains; any film that is performing well at the box office after the first 60 days, will not be made available to the Home Premiere program. We expect you'll be able to count that number on one hand, so it isn't much of a concession.
DIRECTV threw its two cents into the fight by announcing that it wanted to release films on VOD 4-6 weeks after their release in theaters; which earned the wrath of Regal Entertainment who threatened to pull films (or not screen them at all) if they appeared on Premium VOD during the proposed 4-6 weeks.
The real question seems to be, why would anyone pay $30 for a non Blu-ray quality broadcast of a feature film with a limited viewing window, when the physical Blu-ray of the film (in a HD audio format along with the bonus content) would be available in 60-90 days anyway? And for less than $30.
Before you jump at the opportunity to watch one of these releases; take a look at the first few offerings. Adam Sandler's comedy Just Go With It and the dreadful Unknown with Liam Neeson (read Joe Lozito's review).
Perhaps the studios should focus on making better pictures rather than finding new ways to milk the consumer. Just a thought.
Editor's Note: I think this offers an interesting option for consumers who may find it inconvenient to go to theaters but don't want to wait for the title to be released for the home video market. The price is a bit steep but less so than taking a family of four to the theaters in most parts of the country - we shall see if anyone bites. -CB
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