Cablevision has begun offering on demand movies from Universal Studios and Warner Bros. the same day they debut on DVD, but you must also purchase the movie on DVD.Universal's The Bourne Ultimatum, The Kingdom, Eastern Promises and upcoming American Gangster all debuted or will debut on the new service simultaneous with their DVD release, 30 to 45 days before they debut on traditional video-on-demand.
Cablevision is offering the films to subscribers through a deal with Popcorn Home Entertainment, a newly launched company. Cablevision is offering the Popcorn service to its customers in the New York city metro area. Popcorn has deals with Universal and Warner for all new releases and select older titles and says it is talking to other studios.
The company buys and ships DVDs to customers, paying Cablevision a split for each movie sold. Users sign up with a credit card for the service at www.optimum.net/click and then order films with the cable box. Once an order is placed, they have 24 hours to watch the film on VOD with the DVD arriving days later.
All new releases sell for $19.95, and older films are priced between $9.95 and $15.95. There is also a charge for shipping.
Cable company and VOD proponent Comcast first pushed the idea of combining a VOD viewing with a DVD sale in 2005, but the company has yet to make such an offering. Since that time, Comcast has run a test in two markets with five major studios, releasing films on demand the same day they debut on DVD. Popcorn’s deal with Cablevision isn’t exclusive, and the company wants to offer the VOD/DVD combo to other cable companies. (info from TWICE)
No comments:
Post a Comment