Some cable companies and movie studios have thrown around some ideas to provide video-on-demand (VOD) access to films not long after their theatrical release and well before they land on DVD or Blu-ray. NATO warned studios that such services would undercut the value of a typical movie ticket, saying that a lot of people could view a VOD feature at the same time, with just one payment.
"Collapsing windows muddies the value proposition for the consumer, blurs distinctions between theatrical and ‘straight-to-video’ and undercuts one of the important selling points for theatrical exhibition — the timeliness of the exclusive event," NATO warned.
NATO also tapped the fears among Hollywood execs about the future of services such as Redbox, whose kiosks offer very-low-priced rentals of movies. Most Hollywood studios have enforced 28-day delays for kiosks (after DVD release) due to fears that they could hurt sales of brand new titles.
NATO questions why they would want to risk the same "profit-cannibalizing self-competition" by changing release windows or offering early-viewing via VOD services.
Written by: James Delahunty @ 21 Jun 2010 1:16
