Comcast, Cox Offer 'Twilight' On-Demand In Parallel With DVD Release
Cable ops promise more day-and-date VOD releases in 2009
By Glen Dickson -- Broadcasting & Cable, 3/20/2009 4:42:16 PM
Comcast and Cox have both announced that they will make the hit vampire movie “Twilight” available on their video-on-demand (VOD) services Saturday, Mar. 21, the same day the movie is released on DVD.
There should be more such day-and-date VOD releases this year. VOD programming specialist TVN Entertainment announced a deal this week with Summit Entertainment, the studio behind “Twilight,” for access to both SD and HD versions of all its upcoming theatrical releases, which include "Knowing" starring Nicolas Cage and "Brothers Bloom" starring Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo. TVN hasn’t yet specified exact release VOD release dates for those movies, but the signs are encouraging for more day-and-date releases.
"Video on demand is an increasingly important component in our overall digital distribution strategy," said Alex Fragen, president of domestic television distribution for Summit Entertainment, in a statement. "TVN's powerful interactive toolset gives us the visibility and flexibility to manage and analyze our new release timing -- including simultaneous VOD-DVD releases."
Meanwhile, Cox says it will offer more hit movies as soon as they are released on DVD. Upcoming titles include "The Wrestler," "Frost/Nixon," "Bride Wars” and "Yes Man". NBC Universal released the Academy Award-nominated “Milk” simultaneously on VOD, Blu-ray and DVD on March 10, following other NBCU day-and-date releases such as “Changeling,” “Flash of Genius” and “Battle in Seattle.”
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