If you enjoy the ease of watching a newer released movie in your living room as opposed to driving to your local theater, then the question to you is how much are you willing to pay to get those movies in your home sooner. Movie studios are willing to find out. They are proposing to bring films to your home in 2 months after its theater release as opposed to 4 to 6 months. Direct TV is scheduled to test this new service. "The El Segundo-based satellite television provider will launch so-called premium video on demand Thursday with the Adam Sandler comedy, just 69 days after the film premiered in theaters. Consumers will have to pay $29.99 to rent the Sony Pictures movie for 48 hours. That's the first time a major studio movie has been available on television sets that soon after playing in theaters and at that high a price." Other films will follow.
For consumers who weren't able to watch the film in the theater and can't wait till it premieres in the next window, this option gives them more immediate enjoyment. But at $30 it hardly seems worth it, especially when the price to view in the regular on demand window is under 6 dollars. There is perhaps the rare film, like Avatar, that might justify this higher cost for an earlier window, but I doubt the returns will be impressive.
Still as DVD sales have lost ground to the digital market, studios' willingness to try new ideas is impressive. If for $30 I would own a digital copy of the film and I could access on all my devices, then I might be more inclined to consider. But to rent a movie for that amount, I might as well wait for the cheaper DVD or normal on demand window. With so much product in the marketplace, there is always something to watch.
