Movie fans have a lot of choices when it comes to how they're going to access a film. Theaters, DVDs, Blu-ray, mail rentals, digital rentals, digital downloads and video on demand are all viable options depending on a consumer's patience level.
Apparently, though, video on demand services are suffering because of the immediacy of DVDs. Once a new DVD (or Blu-ray disc) goes on sale, video on demand fans typically wait a month to see it show up through their cable carrier.
That month-long window is so irritating that a new study from Oliver
Wyman shows that consumers say they'd pay as much as $9 to get an HD
movie on demand on the same day as the DVD is released. That's a high
price for instant gratification. At least you get a physical disc that
you can bring to your friends' houses when you buy a DVD. Video on
demand offerings stay put, virtually.
Right now, a typical high-def VOD flick costs $5.99. If studios and
carriers agree to an $8.99 price point, they could see $5 to $10
billion more in sales by 2010. Of course, that probably means DVD sales
would see a dip, but industry executives can see that one coming from
miles away, anyhow. —Rachel Rosmarin
