Michael Bay’s Transformers To Air on Cable Pay-Per-View Same Day as Theatrical Release?
There is a big rumour going around the web this week (and I emphasize the words “big” and “rumour”) that Transformers may be the first major blockbuster to be released both in theatres and on cable TV simultaneously on the same date. According to the Uberpulse tech blog, Comcast has landed a massive deal that will allow them to broadcast the film for one night only: on July 3rd. The price of admission is a rather steep pay-per-view rate of $49! Since we have yet to hear anything official from Comcast, and the release of Transformers is only a week away, this is looking more and more unlikely to be true. However, there is speculation that the lack of promotion could be part of the deal, as theatre owners have been very unreceptive to the concept of day and date TV releases, and would not want anything cutting into their box office numbers.
Clearly if this story turns out to be true, it would be absolutely huge news, and could send shockwaves through the entire movie industry. However, even if it ends up being hogwash, we do know that Comcast are indeed working towards such a scenario in the very near future. This article from Ars Technica discusses their plan to launch pay-per-view screenings of current theatrical releases at a price point somewhere between $30 and $50. Obviously the idea is aimed at movie buffs with kick ass home theatre systems who could potentially invite over some friends to help divide up the rather exorbitant cost. What do you think? Would you be interested in something like this? And does this mean that the end of the cineplex is almost upon us?
Comments (2)
with the amount of piracy thats been going on as of late I can’t see this happening. This would mean a high quality version of the film would be on the torrent sites the same night. And why would a huge summer blockbuster like Transformers allow its self to be the guinea pig in the pay-per view experiment?
Posted by James on June 25th, 2007To answer your questions…
1.) What do you think?: I don’t have any opposition to this happening.
2.) Would you be interested in something like this?: If I had cable (which I don’t), I could see the perks of watching a new movie in my PJs in the comfort of my own home with some chips and soda that didn’t cost me $10 at a concession stand. There’s nothing worse than seeing a movie that you enjoyed, but still having to complain about the bastards talking all around you, so I think that would be quite nice. Worth $50 though? Hell no. The most I’d be willing to pay for something like this is $20, but even that’s a stretch and it would have to be something that I REEEEEEALLY want to see.
3.) And does this mean that the end of the cineplex is almost upon us?: In a word, yeah right (make that two words).
Posted by Rian on June 26th, 2007Leave a Reply