Comcast trying to secure in-theater movies for on-demand. For $30-50 each.
Oh, you're gonna love this one. So, those familiar with Steven Soderbergh's work know that last year he did a triple-release film called Bubble, which hit theaters, cable, and DVD all at once; definitely a novel idea for getting your media to as many people as possible -- but at what price would this become tantalizing for studios to consider it on a mass-consumer release, like Spidey 3? Comcast, which is working on securing movies currently in theaters for VOD, seems to think that it should cost $30-50 per screening. Per. Screening. Ok, considering some Pay-Per-View event prices, that's not unrealistic if you have a crowd over and charge admission (but we're fairly sure they'll also propose installing a webcam in every VOD user's home to count the eyeballs watching, and sue if it's more than a couple). But greater problems than large private showings face the model: the theater industry is positively fuming about the idea of simultaneous release, making all manner of threats against movie studios that are considering joining up. Don't worry though, somehow we have a feeling not too many people are going to go the BYOT (bring your own theater) method and lay down fifty friggin bones for some DRM laden one-shot viewing of a new movie.
