Comcast, the giant cable operator, has convinced five of the six major studios to participate in a test that could turn pay-per-view movies from a nothing revenue stream into a profit-generating bonanza.
As part of an unballyhooed experiment that kicked off 10 weeks ago, people who subscribe to Comcast’s digital service in Denver and Pittsburgh can order titles such as “Superman Returns” through PPV video-on-demand on the same day the movie’s DVD hits videostores. (”Superman Returns” was Comcast’s inaugural movie, kicking off on Nov. 28.)
That day-and-date blueprint is a first: Before it gets hold of a movie, cable PPV typically has to wait anywhere from 30 to 60 days before the title springs free of its exclusive bondage in the videostore window.
These windows — which are, at least in part, responsible for the sluggishness of the PPV VOD business — were justifiable when DVD rentals were funneling big profit increases into the studios’ coffers year after year.
But the business of DVD rentals has begun to soften in the last two years, propelling the studios to scout around for fresh income sources.
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