The MPAA has often stated its desire to
offer movies through video on-demand ahead of their release on DVD or Blu-ray -- provided the analog hole was closed -- and now
that it has been, the
Wall Street Journal reports Disney, Fox, Paramount, Sony, Universal and Warner Bros. are considering a pitch from Time Warner Cable to do just that. The price for cutting the usual four month wait for home viewing to just 30 days? As much as $20 to $30 for a
rental. Sony's already tried experimenting with a higher price point on early delivery of
Hancock and
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs to BRAVIA HDTV owners, but at least they
threw in a free Blu-ray copy with the former. So far the studios have only agreed that their current release strategy needs some sort of change, but unless they add some sweeteners we don't see this one shifting us from our current rental/purchase habits.
