There has been rising speculation that Time Warner’s (TWX) Warner Bros and other large movie studios are planning for releasing movies for home viewing in as less a duration as 45 days after their release in theatres. A Wall Street Journal report from March 2017 suggests that movies becoming available on premium VOD (video-on-demand) services are likely to cost between $30 and $50 .
Currently the Company is still in discussions with theater owners and is of the belief that this premium VOD model will benefit both movie studios as well as theater owners offering viewers with flexibility apart from generating more excitement around its movies.
According to an analysis taken from a Wall Street Journal report and Kagan, the average duration between a movie’s release in theaters and when it gets to home viewing decreased from 135 days in 2005 to 102 days in 2016.
Millennials prefer watching content online hence the demand for content is also rising which has led to more options for online viewing including premium VOD viewing. Studio owners are considering providing viewers with access to movies earlier through VOD due to an increase in VOD revenues.
VOD revenues were $2.1 billion in fiscal 4Q16, according to a report by FierceCable with a further citing from a report from Digital Entertainment Group. This is nearly a 6.0% increase year-over-year. Read More
