MUMBAI: Major Hollywood studios and cable companies have joined forces for a push to expand consumer awareness of Movies On Demand.
The $30 million TV, print and online campaign is themed, The Video Store Just Moved In and illustrates how easy it is for digital cable customers to view movies in their homes with a click of the remote. In addition, during the next 12 weeks, the advertising will feature a wide variety of recent release titles, some of which are being offered on Movies On Demand the same day as the DVD is available in stores (Day-and-Date).
"Movies On Demand is a great way for consumers to rent movies, they are reasonably priced, always available, and the number of Day-and-Date titles continues to increase year over year. Warner Bros was the first major studio to test Day-and-Date on demand back in 2006 and the results have been so positive that nearly all of our titles will be Day-and-Date this year," said Warner Bros Home Entertainment Group president Kevin Tsujihara.
Movies On Demand distributor iN DEMAND reports that in just two years there has been more than a seven-fold increase in the number of Day-and-Date titles offered to digital cable customers nationally. Furthermore, according to Rentrak, in 2009 eight of the top 10 performing Movies On Demand were released Day-and-Date with DVD, including Bride Wars, Gran Torino, He’s Just Not That Into You and Twilight, showing the power of such an offering.
"Consumers are accelerating their use of Movies on Demand because it’s the easiest and fastest way for them to find and enjoy top new releases. Improvements in technology, the instant availability of the most recent box office hits and thousands of library titles have fundamentally changed viewing patterns," said Comcast SVP, GM Video and Entertainment Services Derek Harrar.
Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Worldwide president Mike Dunn added, "There is a significant shift with consumers renting Movies On Demand due to the in-home convenience and the extensive selection of the newest releases. We’ve seen On Demand rentals hit an all time high this past year and research shows that it will continue to grow."
The opening slate of Hollywood hits includesPrecious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, starring Academy Award winner Mo’Nique; The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Ninja Assassin, and Pirate Radio, starring Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman. Also debuting are Astro Boy, Bandslam, Did You Hear About the Morgans?, Fantastic Mr. Fox and The Fourth Kind.
"We’re committed to invigorating the cable Movies On Demand business. By strengthening the relationship with our movie studio partners through endeavors like these we’re able to deliver a truly exciting On Demand experience to our customers," said Time Warner Cable chief financial officer Rob Marcus.
The cable partners in the Movies On Demand initiative include Armstrong, Bend Broadband, Bright House Networks, iO TV, Comcast, Cox, Insight and Time Warner Cable. The studio partners include 20th Century Fox, Focus Features, Lionsgate, Rogue, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Summit Entertainment, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros Entertainment, Inc.
