Fox shortens high-def window
CES: Will deliver movies 60 days after theatrical release
By Paul Sweeting 1/8/2006
JAN. 8 | LAS VEGAS--20th Century Fox is developing a plan to release its movies in high-definition just 60 days after theatrical release, according to News Corp. president-COO Peter Chernin.

Giving a keynote address at an invitation-only dinner here Friday at the Consumer Electronics Show, Chernin said Fox also is preparing plans to make movies available via video-on-demand simultaneously with their release on DVD--the first time a major studio chief has committed to eliminating the traditional window between home video and VOD.

Chernin said Fox has not yet determined the delivery platform for the newly created high-def window between theatrical distribution and home video release. High-definition can be delivered via cable, satellite, the Internet and soon digital discs.


A spokeswoman of Fox parent News Corp. declined to provide further details of the plans, and Chernin left the dinner without taking questions.

The news comes just three weeks before Mark Cuban makes his revolutionary debut of Steven Soderbergh's Bubble in 20 of Cuban's Landmark theaters on Jan. 27, nearly simultaneous with the premiere of the movie on the high-def HDNet Movies channel and on DVD on Jan. 31.

Chernin's address capped a week of aggressive digital delivery announcements by Fox companies, including plans to make The Shield and Rescue Me available several days in advance of their weekly debut on FX to customers who adopt News Corp.'s new DirecTV digital video recorders. The studio’s home video unit also announced plans to release the first movies in the new high-def digital disc format called Blu-ray Disc two weeks prior to the introduction of the first Blu-ray machine sometime this spring or early summer.

Fox home entertainment officials said after Chernin's speech that high-def movies would be available for one-time viewing only in the new window, indicating that the likely means of delivery would not be on disc.

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment president Mike Dunn said the move to introduce the new premium high-def window could happen within a matter of months.

Chernin's appearance at the "Leaders in Technology" dinner marked the first time an executive from a content-producing company has addressed the annual bread-breaking between technology companies and public policymakers, hosted by the Consumer Electronics Assn. at CES.

Chernin said he was seizing the opportunity to try to reverse the impression among many in the technology community that News Corp. is resistant to technological change.

"This is an electrifying moment for the CE and IT industries," Chernin said. "And I'm here with a message that may sound counter-intuitive: It's an even more electrifying time for content companies."

Chernin said Fox also is in advanced discussions with Apple and Sony to make Fox TV episodes available for download through the iTunes and Sony Select online services.

His latest comments were in sharp contrast to some of his earlier remarks, in which he has sharply criticized technology companies for not doing enough to help stem widespread piracy of movies and music.

At CES, however, he sounded conciliatory.

"We have no intention of wasting the opportunity you and your companies have created," Chernin said.

The News Corp. exec appeared to extend an olive branch on the question of copy-protection, declaring, "We have to work together to make sure these new devices provide a secure home for our content."


Wow! I think there are going to be some pretty ticked theater owners.

Woah. All the more reason to jump on this. I'd much rather watch movies in the comfort of my own home than at the theaters now.

I can't think of too many movies I couldn't wait 60 days to see in my own home to avoid the usual theater annoyances.

well there you have it ladies and gentlemen... the beginning of the end of movie theaters

I've been to a theater 3 times since I got my speakers all set. One was Ep III, one was for my kids, the other for another family member. If they want me to pay for movies, they better get it to my house, cause there aren't any movies I can imagine that would get me into one of those obnoxious places again.

There goes the second-run $1 theaters.

After the thoroughly miserable experience I had yesterday seeing King Kong with an audience full of people who WOULD NOT SHUT THE HELL UP for the entire 3-hour length of the movie, I say bring it on.

Same here.

yeah tell me about it... i mean i loved the experience with all the star wars fans at the midnight showing but King kong killed me....

i say selective movies be done with this and the others like big top notch movies be released in theaters

I thought I was the only person who was surrounded by 20 different 3-hour conversations during KING KONG... guess not.

Yeah, I say bring it on. I used to be an advocate for at least seeing the "epic" films on the big screen. But the theater-going experience has gotten so terrible, it just isn't worth it. Watching Kong in HD on my 46" screen a month later sounds fine to me -- at least I can focus on the film and not the idiots sitting around me. (And my popcorn is better too. )

One step closer towards day and date theatrical and home video release (which more than one studio is seriously looking at). Sounds good to me.

Hell yeah.

I disagree. This will impact the Hoyts Regals and Showcase Cinemas deepest. The second run cinemas will still do a healthy business since they will still attract the viewer who can wait. This is really bad news for the big multiplex business.

I've had pretty good theater experiences myself. The only two bad ones I can think of are King Kong, where the women next to me kept fiddling with her phone, trying test tones, and then started video taping the movie with it. The other was during the big reveal scenes at the end of the Others when a group of kids came in the theater who had just got done seeing Jeepers Creepers and were singing the song and almost started a riot.

On the other hand, I do have a 106" screen at home, so why do I need to go to the theater?

I'll still go to the theatre for the big event movies like Star Wars and Kong, but most of the others i'd definetly prefer on DVD.

I've already stopped seeing movies in the theaters except for the very big ones. Such as Star Wars and Kong. I mean I have surround sound, I have a 42" HD widescreen set which is like six feet in front of me... I don't need anything else. The theater can go the way of the dodo for all I care. Maybe if more movies were more consistant in offering the viewer a great time but most movies more and more every year tend to suck. Give us real movies, and stop giving us remakes all of the time. I'm getting tired of it.

Unfortunately this '60 day only' waiting period thing may be at least a year off for me, maybe a year and a half or even two. I don't want to plunk money down on something that isn't going to truly be the new standard, until it's official, or close to it.

I'll still go to the theaters, at least for action movies and epics. Just can't top the theater experience with the huge screen and sound system.

Sure the audience can sometimes ruin it, but I try to catch matinees when it's less crowded and can block most things out, so I don't get my experience ruined as easily as those that have to have absolute silence througout to enjoy the film. As long as their aren't people talking loudly constantly I'm ok. Some whispering etc. doesn't bother me much.

Keep in mind, the article hints that this is a pay-per-view style plan only, and not something that is going to happen on HD-DVD or Blu-ray.

I've never really been that into the whole PPV setup, and assuming they would devise a setup that would prohibit people from using DVRs to record the movies, it limits the usefulness to me. If I'm home and I'm interupted, what are my options for continuing the movie? Can I even pause it with my DVR? Some might argue that you don't have that control during a theatrical visit either, but at home there are various elements you can't control, usually even worse than at theaters.

It's still an interesting idea, but I don't think it will truly stick unless they really can provide effective copy protection (which also has to NOT be a pain in the ass that hurts the product's functionality). I'm more thinking in terms of the window between the HD release and the home video release as they put it. Because I can't see the plan lasting if people bootleg the HD feeds and downconvert them to bootleg DVDs months before the proper DVD releases hit shelves.

And I can definitely see theaters having a huge problem with this. Seeing that theatrical distribution is still a huge chunk of the money made from making movies, it might be unwise to alienate that market for something that likely won't bring in a big profit for at least a few years.

so then there will be no extra features. this is way too little time to get a proper treatment. you people that think this is a good idea are glutton for punishment or you love double dipping so much that it has become religion.

Not necessarily. These days, the extras have typically been compiled by the time the movie hits theaters.

Also, the article indicates that this isn't a physical home video format, so if they're just making something available digitally, it probably have little to no extras anyway.

Well, to be fair, it's not meant to compete with owning a DVD. It's sounds like it's meant to get people who are staying home and not goign to the movies to pay to watch it at home before it comes on on DVD/bluray.

i.e. those that don't like the distractions, prices, hassle of leaving the house, can pay however much to watch the movie at home instead of going to the cinema.

And you can't pause the film at the movie theater if you have to pee either. And to be fair, if they do this over cable they could do something like Comcasts on demand that they have for their ppv movies now where you can watch it when you want, pause etc.

This will be exactly like the On-Demand system. They are trying to net the people who wait out the DVD release because the theaters are an overpriced hassle.

If you can find an audience who doesn't talk or ruin the film, the theater experience still beats anything else. Dolby/DTS sound on a gigantic screen...nothing like it. Seeing the film in a theater has a much greater impact most of the time....provided you get to watch it in silence.

You're in the Boston area, aren't you? Were you at the Randolph theater?

The best was a kid two seats over from me who had seen the movie before and felt compelled to provide a running narration to his family about what was going to happen next in each scene: "Look dad, that guy's gonna die in a minute" or "Now Kong's gonna break that dinosaur's mouth!". And although I might be able to cut a stupid kid some slack, his yokel father was just as bad, making noises and talking and encouraging his brat to keep yapping the entire time. And he smelled, too! Really bad!!

oh hell yeah. This is great news. While I do enjoy the movie theater for blockbuster films, I can certainly wait 2 months for almost everything else.