DirecTV Launches Premium On Demand… At A Price.
With the decline in revenue from box offices and the sales of DVDs, Hollywood is looking for more ways to generate dollars on feature films. Brace yourself for this – DirecTV is going to launch a new service where consumers can download new releases directly through their Video on Demand feature. But it’ll cost you about $30.
This new feature would cut down the theatrical run time of a film to about four to six weeks until it would be able to be viewed on demand. Needless to say theater owners aren’t very pleased with this. Amy Miles, chief executive of Regal Entertainment stated: “If a film has a four-to-six-week window to a home, we’re not going to give it screen time.”
Gerry Lopez from AMC also agreed, saying that AMC will not screen films that will be released under this new plan; and can you blame them?
DirecTV is planning on rolling out a trial for their premium on demand this summer with Sony, Warner Bros, and 20th Century Fox ready to roll with them. Universal and Paramount are hlding back and waiting to see how the new feature takes off.
What do you think? Would you pay $30 (which is about 3 full price tickets to see a film in the theater on average) to see a new release movie in your home?
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