Chuck West
Stunt Coordinator
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2002
- Messages
- 201
I figured a subject like this needed its own thread.
It looks like the concept of simultaneous theater and pay-per-view releases may start with Transformers on 7/3. Pricey at $49.99, but if the price comes down with time... look out theaters.
http://www.chud.com/index.php?type=news&id=10826
If you’ve been reading the front page, you know that Hollywood has been considering a variety of options to firm up box office revenue and thwart the looming threat of piracy. One of the most controversial is the “premiere” day-and-date release which would see major blockbusters available for cable PPV purchase prices in the $30-$50 range on the same day they come out in theaters. With so many eschewing the increasingly **** theatrical experience for a night at home with the fam and the 50-inch HDTV/surround sound system they just dropped a few grand for, studios are desperate to get their hooks back into this most lucrative of moviegoers. And since a lot of having a pimp home theater is about showing it off to friends and acquaintances, what could be more “hip” than getting a must-see title at home where you don’t have to consider going all Hostel on the group of snotty punks two rows ahead who can’t stop texting for 90 minutes?
The only question is which title is going to kick off this experiment, and the answer isn’t that surprising. It appears that Michael Bay’s Transformers will claim the mantle. According to techie site Uberpulse.com the film will debut on July 3 on cable PPV for the upper-range price of $49. The story’s short on details beyond that, so I can’t tell you for sure that it will only be “cable” PPV, as opposed to PPV across cable and satellite systems. Still, either scenario would be a groundbreaker, and studios will be watching the returns and response very closely. Also watching will be theater execs, who are appropriately scared at being dealt another blow to their shrinking revenue.
But even if there are snafus (and the one I’m rooting for is a simple labeling mistake to result in Transformers: The Movie being shown instead for the first several thousand orders or so. I believe Justin’s money is on TransAmerica.), this idea will continue to move forward. All these gatekeepers are more panicked by the loss of control than any short-term revenue hits. They’ve been spoiled by nearly a century of being able to dictate how the consumer can buy content, for what price, and how they will be allowed to enjoy their content. Now with the Internet as the great equalizer, that horse is long gone, and it’s going to be a long, messy negotiation between consumers and movie and music studios as to how things are going to be from here. There’s no magical silver bullet that will turn back the clock, and as the music industry is learning the hard way right now, you either get down or lay down.
http://www.uberpulse.com/us/2007/06/...box_office.php
UberPulse has learned that, for the first time in Hollywood's history, a local studio, namely Paramount, will release next month's live-action Transformers movie, on cable pay-per-view, the same day it premiere's in US theatres, on July 3rd. But don't hold your breath... the price tag for that special night might deter more than one: $49!
At this price, it makes sense to watch a blockbuster at home instead of going to the theatres, only if you have a really nice home theatre system and invite lots of family and friends. And that's exactly how Hollywood is trying to convince the theatres: that those people, who owns such home theatre systems, are not going to the cinemas anyway.
We have also learned that movie theatres are very reluctant to release that content as they have the right on it for the first six months it is released a.k.a the first window of exclusivity... But the writing is on the wall. So expect more experiments like this one, more often... cheaper... until the death of theatres!
It looks like the concept of simultaneous theater and pay-per-view releases may start with Transformers on 7/3. Pricey at $49.99, but if the price comes down with time... look out theaters.
http://www.chud.com/index.php?type=news&id=10826
If you’ve been reading the front page, you know that Hollywood has been considering a variety of options to firm up box office revenue and thwart the looming threat of piracy. One of the most controversial is the “premiere” day-and-date release which would see major blockbusters available for cable PPV purchase prices in the $30-$50 range on the same day they come out in theaters. With so many eschewing the increasingly **** theatrical experience for a night at home with the fam and the 50-inch HDTV/surround sound system they just dropped a few grand for, studios are desperate to get their hooks back into this most lucrative of moviegoers. And since a lot of having a pimp home theater is about showing it off to friends and acquaintances, what could be more “hip” than getting a must-see title at home where you don’t have to consider going all Hostel on the group of snotty punks two rows ahead who can’t stop texting for 90 minutes?
The only question is which title is going to kick off this experiment, and the answer isn’t that surprising. It appears that Michael Bay’s Transformers will claim the mantle. According to techie site Uberpulse.com the film will debut on July 3 on cable PPV for the upper-range price of $49. The story’s short on details beyond that, so I can’t tell you for sure that it will only be “cable” PPV, as opposed to PPV across cable and satellite systems. Still, either scenario would be a groundbreaker, and studios will be watching the returns and response very closely. Also watching will be theater execs, who are appropriately scared at being dealt another blow to their shrinking revenue.
But even if there are snafus (and the one I’m rooting for is a simple labeling mistake to result in Transformers: The Movie being shown instead for the first several thousand orders or so. I believe Justin’s money is on TransAmerica.), this idea will continue to move forward. All these gatekeepers are more panicked by the loss of control than any short-term revenue hits. They’ve been spoiled by nearly a century of being able to dictate how the consumer can buy content, for what price, and how they will be allowed to enjoy their content. Now with the Internet as the great equalizer, that horse is long gone, and it’s going to be a long, messy negotiation between consumers and movie and music studios as to how things are going to be from here. There’s no magical silver bullet that will turn back the clock, and as the music industry is learning the hard way right now, you either get down or lay down.
http://www.uberpulse.com/us/2007/06/...box_office.php
UberPulse has learned that, for the first time in Hollywood's history, a local studio, namely Paramount, will release next month's live-action Transformers movie, on cable pay-per-view, the same day it premiere's in US theatres, on July 3rd. But don't hold your breath... the price tag for that special night might deter more than one: $49!
At this price, it makes sense to watch a blockbuster at home instead of going to the theatres, only if you have a really nice home theatre system and invite lots of family and friends. And that's exactly how Hollywood is trying to convince the theatres: that those people, who owns such home theatre systems, are not going to the cinemas anyway.
We have also learned that movie theatres are very reluctant to release that content as they have the right on it for the first six months it is released a.k.a the first window of exclusivity... But the writing is on the wall. So expect more experiments like this one, more often... cheaper... until the death of theatres!
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