Universal abandons early VoD release
October 13, 2011
Following staunch opposition from cinema owners, Universal Pictures has abandoned its plan to make its movie “Tower Heist” available to consumers via VoD just three weeks after it opens in cinemas.
“Universal Pictures today announced that in response to a request from theatre owners, it has decided to delay its planned premium home video on demand experiment,” the studio said in a statement. “Universal continues to believe that the theatre experience and a pay-VoD window are business models that can coincide and thrive and we look forward to working with our partners in exhibition to find a way to experiment in this area in the future.”
Universal did not say when it would attempt to launch another similar VoD release.
Universal recently said it would make “Tower Heist” available to about 500,000 cable subscribers of Universal’s corporate parent, Comcast, in two markets, Atlanta and Portland, for $59.99 via VoD.