I’m one of those people who likes impulsive satisfaction. I get the urge for something, and I want that something right away… and if I can’t get it right away, then I’ll in all likelihood lose interest. Not for all things in life… just mostly for “stuff”. Movies are certainly one of those things (that’s why I never got into Netflix. When I have the urge to watch a particular movie… I want to see the movie NOW, not in 3 days when it finally arrives).
Anyway, a pretty smart little move is being made by American company Cablevision Systems who have worked out a deal that if you order a movie dvd, then you can immediately watch that movie on their pay-per-view service on TV for 24 hours while you wait for your disc to arrive. Yahoo News gives us this:
The service, called “Popcorn DVDs On Demand,” would allow Cablevision’s 2 million digital subscribers to order a DVD via their remote control and watch the movie immediately in the first 24 hours following the purchase. One of the first movies available on February 19 will be “American Gangster,” starring Denzel Washington and nominated for two Academy Awards.
They’re saying the movies will be $19.99, which isn’t too bad. So, you get to watch the movie right away, AND you get a DVD out of it too. I like it. It’s not going to revolutionize the industry by any stretch of theimagination, but it shows forward thinking and I won’t be surprised to see other cable providers making moves to copy the idea.
That’s sort of dumb. If I want to see a movie immediately, I’ll go to any one of the numerous video stores around here and get it immmediately for that amount or less (not including tax, which would be cheaper than the S+H cost).
I suppose it’s OK for people who hate to drive (or have to drive far distances), or like to spend more money on DVDs than they’re worth.