The studios originally floated the idea of early access video on demand last fall, and I didn’t think much of it at the time — assuming either the theaters would crush it or they’d recognize very few of us are willing to pay for rentals in the double digits. Well, logic hasn’t prevailed…
Warner Bros., Sony, Universal and 20th Century Fox are the first studios that have agreed to launch Home Premiere as the official brand under which the industry will offer up movies to rent for $30 two months after their theatrical bows for a viewing period of two to three days, depending on the distributor.
The service kicks off later this month via the likes of DirecTV and Comast. And I just didn’t see it flying, given the cost and delay, as the studios attempt to squeeze more value out of the artificial, inconsistant, and archaic movie release windows. The only way I could imagine this sort of scheme paying off is if the studios and television providers were to make a movie available the same weekend it’s released into theaters and portray the experience as a pay-per-view event. Perhaps that’s the ultimate goal, but at launch, this initiative will fail (to generate revenue). Agree?
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The only potential redeeming idea that I heard about this was that the rental would also include them sending you the BD/DVD when it was released. Certainly the only possible way I could see this flying.
Still, rather insane.
Well going to the theater to see a movie could run about $30 for two people if you include a drink and popcorn so I don't think the $30 price tag is that unreasonable if you rationalize it like that (add in one kid and its even more). However I'd still wait 6 months and then rent it for between $1 and $5.
Unfortunately for theatre companies, I do see this paying off. Think of it this way...no gas to pay for to get to the theatre AND at $30 it would cost you more to get 3 people into the theatre. Not to mention the concession costs.
I do think theatre chains would crush the idea if the could and would definitely do everything in their power to squash the idea of concurrent release to theatre and VOD. There's no way the studio will provide BD/DVD just for renting the movie at home. The premium charge is just that: for the convenience of staying home and watching first run movies without having to wait 6 months for the DVD release you pay $30.