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Universal is releasing movies in theaters and at home on the same day
Movie studios have spent years considering releasing their films for home viewing at the same time they're in theaters, but have usually withdrawn those plans based on complaints by the theater chains. Now, with people staying home and theaters closing due to the coronavirus pandemic, Universal Pictures will be the first to try the scheme by offering movies that are currently in theaters for home rental at a price of $19.99 for a 48-hour viewing window. The first movies offered will start popping up on Friday, with The Hunt, Invisible Man and Emma available internationally via "a wide variety of the most popular on-demand services." It appears the Vudu is on the list, and we'd assume that other big names like iTunes and Amazon Video will also participates. The first movie to premiere under the new setup will be Trolls World Tour on April 20th.
Apple mulls pricey early movie rentals right after theater debut
Apple and Comcast are the latest names in the seemingly never-ending struggle to bring movies home faster. Bloomberg reports that the tech behemoth and telco, independently, are in talks with movie studios to offer $50 rentals roughly 17 days after their theatrical debut. Waiting four to six weeks would save you money, as the price would drop to $30 according to Bloomberg's sources. This the same structure we'd heard earlier this year when Warner Bros. and Fox stepped into the fray. The deals could be finalized by early next year, apparently.
Hollywood again considers $30 early movie rentals
Slowly, movie studios are putting the pieces in place for reducing the time between a film's theatrical run and when you can watch it at home. The latest step toward this is news that Warner Bros. would be cool with people watching its movies as soon as 17 days after theatrical debut, according to Variety. That privilege would come with a $50 price tag -- the same price Napster founder Sean Parker proposed over a year ago for his Screening Room service.
Warner Bros. pushing movie delays from 28 to 56 days for Netflix, Redbox and Blockbuster?
While HBO is reportedly not supplying DVDs directly to its rival Netflix, Warner Bros. is apparently flexing its muscle by working out agreements that will keep new release movies away from Blockbuster, Netflix and Redbox renters. This news comes from anonymous sources dropping a dime in the ear of AllThingsD's Peter Kafka, who reports the arrangements will be announced at CES, not long after Warner extended the window for Blockbuster to match the other two. This news comes at the same time Time Warner's CFO John Martin remarked upon "alternate" distribution channels as a way for it to move through a more challenging home video market. That means the company is focusing on things like day-and-date VOD releases with disc which it's seeking to protect from competition by cut-rate rental services like these three, likely by leveraging their desire for content to feed streaming movie offerings. According to Home Media Magazine, he believes the industry has "got to embrace these higher margin opportunities" -- which is probably going to leave just the older flicks in its 7,000 movie deep library for the rest of us trying to watch via subscription or $1~ rentals. Update: Bloomberg reports Redbox has denied reaching any revised agreement, and that its deal with Warner still calls for a 28-day delay only. We'll likely find out what the deal is in a few days, so stay tuned.
Eddie Murphy's Tower Heist gets fast-tracked to Comcast VOD, $60 saves a trip to the theater
Perhaps you're not a fan of sticky floors, armrest sharing or simply other people. Well, crowd-averse Comcast subscribers at least will have the chance to watch one Hollywood release from the comfort of their home while it's still in theaters. According to The LA Times, Eddie Murphy's Tower Heist will be out to view on-demand a mere three weeks after its November 4th release. It's not the first time we've seen premium advance video-on-demand, the main difference being, at $60, Comcast's experiment looks to be double the price for half the wait. Now if we could just afford that 155-inch screen...
Comcast is first with VOD from all four major networks, still negotiating for early release movies
Starting Thursday, Comcast will add TV shows from ABC and Fox to its video on-demand library, making it the only provider that offers shows from all four broadcast networks (including NBC and CBS) as soon as the day after they air. There's a list of all the TV shows Comcast will be offering in the press release after the break -- no Modern Family or House? weak -- so the next time you forget to DVR Cops, you're covered. Also, now that DirecTV has broken the seal on premium VOD early release movies, Comcast also mentioned it is still in negotiations to provide similar access to flicks. With no specifics to announce it's possible the pricing or windows could differ from what we've seen so far, so we'll just advise Senior Vice President and General Manager of Comcast Video Services Marcien Jenkes to take a long look at our poll results before signing anything.
DirecTV's $30 per rental premium video on-demand service launches Thursday
If the actual trip to the movie theater was the only thing preventing you from checking out Adam Sandler, Brooklyn Decker and Jennifer Aniston in Just Go With It, you can still check it out before it arrives on Blu-ray or DVD starting Thursday thanks to DirecTV's new premium video on-demand service. The Hollywood Reporter mentions Sony's flick will be the first one on the service and is already available for preordering on the new Home Premiere service, available only to customers with the satellite company's HD DVRs, which is about 6 million people. As far as DRM, HDMI is required but only a "digital watermarking technology" is mentioned. The next several flicks planned for the service include The Adjustment Bureau (Universal), Cedar Rapids (Fox) and Hallpass (Warner Bros.); they will be available for two weeks at a $29.99 pricetag, in 1080p with 48 hour viewing windows. Movie theater owners don't seem thrilled by the new service, we guess the next question is whether or not you are -- the poll is after the break.
Theater owners ready to fight over $30, 60-day window VOD movies
While we're not exactly in a hurry to spend $30 each on 60-day delayed movie rentals, theater owners are quite upset by the whole premium video-on-demand plan apparently being pushed by Warner, Sony, Fox and Universal. The most active objector so far appears to be AMC Theaters, which announced yesterday (press release after the break) it would notify studios that it plans to "adapt its economic model" regarding movies bound for p-VOD. What it wants is likely a bigger slice of the revenue and also a heads up on which movies will be getting the earlier releases. Rival theater chains Regal and Cinemark have already expressed plans to cut promotion and screens for movies headed to p-VOD, but without any official announcement it's still not clear which movies those will be. Of course, cutting down promo and screens cuts into the theater's own revenue, so we'll wait to see who blinks first. (Hint: it won't be us -- we wouldn't pay $30 to watch The Adjustment Bureau on Mars, much less in our own living rooms on DirecTV, Vudu or Comcast.)
DirecTV, Comcast, Vudu could start offering 'premium VOD' $30 movie rentals in April
Despite the questionable appeal of watching movies two months after they come out in theaters for $30 a pop, The Hollywood Reporter reports Warner Bros., Sony, Fox and Universal are going ahead with their premium video on-demand scheme. According to the always helpful unnamed insiders, DirecTV will be launching the service nationally at the end of April, with Walmart-backed Vudu and a regional launch by Comcast soon after. Company Town mentions movies like The Adjustment Bureau, Paul, or Just Go With It could be among launch titles. There's no word on DRM although apparently Paramount has taken a pass specifically due to piracy concerns -- theater owners aren't happy either -- so we'll just wait and see if the quality of scene rips suddenly make a jump by this time next month. Either way, expect some new variation of Gregor and his lap giraffe to make an appearance soon.
Theaters threaten boycott over DirecTV's proposed premium VOD
Paying $30 to watch a movie via DirecTV's video-on-demand might seem crazy to you, even if the movie did just hit the theaters less than two months ago, but not was crazy as it seems to the owners of the largest theater chains in America. You see, for the first time, maybe ever, the theater business is absolutely booming and the home media business is going in the opposite direction. So while Hollywood thinks that this is an opportunity to find lost ground in a suffering sector, the CEO of the nation's largest theater chain Regal Entertainment, Amy Miles, said "if a film has a four-to-six week window to a home, we're not going to give it screen time." Ouch. The big wig who runs AMC, Gerry Lopez, wasn't any more receptive, insisting "we do not intend to screen movies released under such circumstances." We'd prefer not to get in the middle of this lover's quarrel, but we have to say we doubt enough people would be willing to pay $30 to watch a movie at home to impact the theater business one way or another.
Sony, Warner and Disney mulling $30 at-home viewing option, we laugh and wait for the $100 option
Ah, "premium" video-on-demand. Media controllers have been fighting the inevitable forever, but now it seems they're finally coming around to the future -- letting users watch silver screen gems (or duds, for what it's worth) in their home shortly after release in the theater. Before you bust out the golf claps for these dudes and dudettes, you should know that they're planning to ding you for around $30 for the privilege, so it's only remotely of interest if you happen to have a family of eight. According to a new Bloomberg report, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros., and Walt Disney Co. are all in talks with major cable systems to "offer films for as much as $30 per showing soon after they run in theaters." Disney's also thinking of streaming its content to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, with Warner expected to begin testing an offering later this year that lets consumers watch new(ish) release material for "$20 to $30 per viewing." Of course, we guess it can't hurt to throw the option out there and see exactly who is desperate enough, but we're guessing this won't exactly be the demise of the cinema. Or Redbox.