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DirecTV said today that it is launching its much-discussed premium video-on-demand service on Thursday, with Sony’s Just Go With It the first movie available to subscribers. Universal, Fox and Warner Bros also are in on the partnership, and cross-channel promotions begin today, followed by national ads. Under terms of the service, a movie will become available to download every two weeks for $29.99, which gets the user multiple views over a 48-hour period before the film disappears from the hard drive. All films will be in 1080p HD and Dobly 5.1 Surround Sound.
Other films in the early rollout include Universal’s The Adjustment Bureau, Fox’s Cedar Rapids and Warner Bros’ Hall Pass.
At a second glance, the VOD service seems a bit less than meets the eye. It is available only to DirecTV subscribers who have HD DVRs — that’s only about 6 million of the satellite company’s 19.2 million subs — and only one movie is available every two weeks. Not that any of that is much consolation to steamed theater owners, who have slammed the service for shrinking the theatrical window and are forming plans to retaliate against the studios by limiting their films’ trailers and signage.
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As a DirecTV subscriber, I can say immediately that the price point for this service is already too high. I do not believe they will get many people to pony up $30 only to hold the movie for a mere 24hrs. That period is the same as their VOD now and that isn’t very popular either. They used to allow unlimited viewings for longer periods. This service appears DOA from the start.
The reason we DTV subscribers can’t keep VOD unlimited is because the studios won’t allow it. They don’t want us to “own” a movie for $4.99.
This is the reason DVD will never go away. Why would I want to pay even $1.99 EVERY TIME I want to watch a movie when I can buy the Blu-ray for $15?
Yeah, the death of disc is greatly exaggerated.
And as far as $30 for these “first run” movies…nope. Like you said, DOA.
…which is why I have decided to completely boycott purchasing any on-demand movies from DirecTV.
Only pays off for a large family to watch a movie at home.
My DishNetwork bill is already @$91 a month, and it doesn’t even include the premium channels. In what universe do these people think I will pay $30 for a movie so I can see it twice? The “dream factory” needs to stop dreaming this will be a new revenue source for them. I’ll wait an extra month for my Netflix rental, thank you very much. None of the crap the studios put out are worth more than my $12 monthly rental.
I’m completely baffled as to who would have any interest in this whatsoever! “Just Go With It” is already at the $1.50 theater 1 mile from my house here in North Hollywood, ditto “Adjustment Bureau”. “Hall Pass” and “Cedar Rapids” have already come and gone from this 2nd run venue. Not exactly what I call “Premium” release’s with lots of play left in em’. Unless they start putting highly anticipated tent poles on VOD day and date, no one is gonna drive by a one dollar redbox kiosk to head home and spend 30 frigging dollars on played out crap movies!
Where is there a $1.50 theater in NoHo? I’ve been looking for a good place in the LA area to see movies on the big screen that I didn’t catch in first run, and after the one at Fairfax and Beverly went bust, I thought none were left. Any others?
The Valley Plaza 6, just off of Victory and Laurel Canyon.
Regency Valley Plaza is only $1.50 all day Tuesday. Only $3.00 every other day of the week. $1.00 Hot Dogs all the time. Is it the most beautiful theater? No, but it’s not bad, and you can’t beat $1.50. Heading there in just a bit actually!
what theater in north hollywood is that?
What is the target audience for this? Is that $ 29.99 PER MOVIE? This is ridiculous.
Just wait another couple of weeks and buy it on Blu-ray for half that price the first day it goes on sale at Target.
Can we record it?
why would we pay 30 dollars to see it now when we can buy the dvd a few months from now at half the cost and get to keep it.
This will bomb. Whoever came up with the $30 price point should be fired.
Hopefully this will light a fire under their butts to FINALLY finish the TiVo deal, so those of us holding out for an HD DirectTV/TiVo box will join the HD army.
That has to be a typo right? $29.99?!?! You could buy the movie for that. Dumb.
“Much-discussed premium video-on-demand service”… Much discussed by whom? Some morons in a conference room at DirecTV headquarters? Instead of masterminding a service to provide “Just Go With It” at a bargain $30 price, how about just giving us AMC in HD already!!!
Um, they have AMC in HD.
Not on DirecTV they don’t.
The price is too high. Almost always, new technology is costly…and, as I look at my 50″ Hi Def Plasma screen (FULLY DirectTV programmed)…I remember it was over $3500…and now it costs under $1000.
VOD will test and learn what the market will be and what it will pay for the service, and no matter what that number is…it is will be another thorn in the exhibition crown.
Longtime Directv client… who likes all the bells and whistles… but this is LAME.
The cheap theater in No. Hollywood is the UA Regency 6, formally the UA North Hollywood for you ol’movie goers. BTW, it’s $3, not $1.50.
As for this VOD idea, I agree with an earlier emailer; Cable/Satallite bills are already too costly. Adding $30 every 2 weeks is going to redinfe “sticker shock” when that bill hits.
Though day and date VOD, (which I’m certain is not far off)could change my opinion.
It’s $1.50 all day on Tuesday!!!
Day & Date is the only way this kind of service will work at this kind of price point and if the studios ever allow that to be offered it will put the theater chains out of business within a year.
With gas costs and concession costs being ridiculous and almost everyone having a 50” plus HD display in their houses, no one will go the theater for the experience of sitting with rude strangers when they can watch this stuff in their underwear eating a bowl of ravioli.
For this 30 day thing to work, the price point would have to be $10. $30 is just stupid and whoever came up with that number just cost their boss a lot of sales in this material.
I love that steamed theater owners are forming plans to retaliate against the studios but they still haven’t formed plans to ban cellphones and disruptive behavior in their theaters.
Amen!!!
Mr. Gabriel:
As a theater owner before you blame us, remember it’s the MOVIE-GOERS who think they can behave in a theater the same way watching a DVD in their living room. I have no way of controlling people who lack the most basic common courtesy that talk loudly, text, use their cell phones, kick the backs of chairs, leave trash laying around, put their feet on seats, crunch candy wrappers, smell horrible, belch, fart, get up to go to the bathroom 5 times during a movie, and any of the other multitudes of rude and obnoxious behaviors I could tell you we have to deal with.
People like this should not be allowed to go anywhere they must interact with the general public. Their behavior is the same whether they are at at theater, the supermarket, a restaurant or a friggin’ car wash.
That’s the type of attitude that got us to this point. It’s pathetic that you blame your clientele. It’s your place of business – take some pride in it and set some rules. A zero tolerance policy on cell phones and disruptive behavior in theaters can stop this behavior dead in its tracks. Send an usher in to check on an audience once or twice or do it yourself. But you don’t care – you happily take my admission and popcorn money and leave me to fend for myself.
Thank you for the lesson in theater management and crowd control. My point superbrain, is that the theater staff are not the ones causing the problems. We have a zero tolerance policy in place already. Signs posted about texting, usher-patrolled auditoriums, warning slips handed to people with babies, etc. My employees have booted out more people in the last couple of years than in the past 20 I’ve been in the business. We call our floor staff “the babysitters”.
I’m sorry you frequent theaters that don’t care, but not all theaters operate with the same.
Theater Owner – Why can’t you ask these people to leave? I was 1 of 6 in a Glendale theater the last week for the King’s Speech.
The usher walked by the chatty Kathys several times.
I finally told the chatty Kathys that I did not want to hear their commentary throughout the Oscar award winning picture.
Thank goodness they complied but I should not be the one leaving. THE CHATTY KATHYS should be kicked out.
By the way – I’ve been looking for the second run theaters in LA so thanks for the information guys!
Here’s the long term plan. “They” know full well, that $30 is too high for played out movies….but you cannot start charging $10 at this stage, to increase to your $30 goal point in the future.
Whats coming in the future? Day and Date…and do not be surprised to see a movie premiere on this service, the same weekend of release at the movie theater….its coming! Its a tip toe strategy!
Movie theater chains need to rethink their 50% revenue sharing of profits….cause they are about to be cut off
…oh, and soon.
Why is this so expensive and controversial compared to something like Lodgenet which has been doing the same thing at a much cheaper price in hotels for years?
i laughed out loud when i read the price point for this. i’ve had directv for years and think it’s great but this will be a big bust. no way will i pay 30 bucks for a movie i can watch a month later for $7, and that’s even stretching in for some of the stuff being put out now.
I initially figured this must be $29.99 for a subscription, but it indeed is $29.99 per movie. ATTENTION DIRECTV please print the names and email addresses of the handful of people that actually purchases this – I would like to hit them up for some money.
Bad idea. I’ve sybscribed to DirecTV fort 10 years and they used to let you keep the downloaded movie on your DVR. A few years later, there was a “software upgrade” that would wipe downloaded movies within 24 hours after viewing.
But $30 to watch one film?? That’s roughly the price of 3 people going to see it in the theater. Yes, there’s a convenience factor involved, but that price-point is just nonsense. There’s no movie I can think of that is worth this price. You can simply wait until it comes out on disc (a few weeks) or rotates to the movie channels (maybe 3 months).
The only way a $30 download plan works is if the studio NEVER intends to release a disc or boradcast it anywhere else. And we all know how much THAT is gonna happen.
I am completely opposed to this plan. It will kill the theatrical window and I prefer to watch films in the theaters. It will be harder because theaters will not keep it in the theater if consumers can buy it on DVD or PPV.