In a move with potentially huge ramifications for the movie business, four major studios have agreed to launch a premium video-on-demand service with DirecTV. The service, called Home Premiere, will cost $30 for movies that were in theaters two months ago. Here are more details from Variety:
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.
If the service is popular and similar deals are made with other providers, movie theaters stand to lose a lot of business. This also makes things more difficult for Netflix, Amazon, Apple iTunes, and other digital movie rental services.
While $30 seems like a lot of money, it’s actually a decent deal. Movie theater tickets costs more than $10 each, food at theaters is incredibly overpriced, and there are often idiots at theaters (talkers, people that leave on their phones, etc.). For a family outing or a parents’ night out (babysitters cost $), Home Premiere could be a lot cheaper than the movies. It also offers the convenience of privacy and eating your own food.
What do you ladies and gents think of Home Premiere? Would you be interested in the service or one like it? Kindly take today’s poll and discuss!
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