Posted by Allan on 10/12/05 13:42

Comcast considers DVD sales + on-demand combo

From the Web

11 Oct 2005 15:32

Video Business Online is carrying a Variety story reporting that
Comcast has proposed to Hollywood studios a novel approach to
on-demand movie sales: A customer could call up Comcast and ask to
purchase the entire movie, to own. The customer would immediately
receive permanent on-demand accessibility to the movie, while the DVD
is being shipped to him via second-day air.

Sensing that the financially troubled Blockbuster is ripe for
plucking, Comcast is sounding out the Hollywood studios on the
following proposition: A Comcast customer with a digital box will see
a menu listing for, say, The 40-Year-Old Virgin as much as six weeks
in advance of its scheduled appearance on pay-per-view.

For a fee of about $17, the subscriber could call up the movie for
one immediate video-on-demand showing. Two days later, the DVD of
Virgin shows up in the mailbox for the subscriber's permanent
collection.

Video Business Online is speculating that Comcast's proposal may have
the objective of softening financially-strapped Blockbuster Video, the
leading US rental chain, for a takeover.




20 years.... yeah whatever.






"Arguing with anonymous strangers on the Internet is a sucker's game
because they almost always turn out to be -- or to be indistinguishable from
-- self-righteous sixteen-year-olds possessing infinite amounts of free time."
- Neil Stephenson, _Cryptonomicon_

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