LAS VEGAS (Hollywood Reporter) – Feeling blindsided, theater owners were furious Thursday that four Hollywood studios didn’t brief them on plans to launch a new premium video-on-demand (VOD) service on DirecTV late next month, followed swiftly by Comcast and VUDU.
Exhibitors could respond by changing how they book films and play trailers.
Adding to their ire, word of the service broke just as exhibitors and studios were together in Las Vegas for CinemaCon, the annual convention of theater owners. Throughout Caesars Palace, home of the show, meetings between distributors and exhibitors ended abruptly as theater owners scrambled to make sense of the news.
Warner Bros., Fox, Sony and Universal are all on board, according to insiders. The movies will be available 60 days after their release in theaters for $29.99. Fox Searchlight titles will be offered 60 days from the date that they go wide.
Theater owners say the shortening of the theatrical window
Read More from the Article Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110401/media_nm/us_vod
