Bringing Movie Biz into Living Room

Through a unique arrangement, Comcast is giving its Xfinity TV subscribers exclusive access to the Tribeca Film Festival this week. The two sides announced a deal that will allow Comcast to offer three movies via Xfinity On Demand before they even debut at the festival... giving these independent films access to millions of viewers they wouldn't normally have.

And while the cross-platform deal may be aimed at a select handful of Comcast's cinemaphile subscribers, analysts see the move as more of a shift in movie-consumption. Says BTIG's Rich Greenfield: "The stage is set for the 'home' to become the new 'theater.'"

According to a new post from the analyst, HDTV penetration in the average US TV HH now exceeds 70%, and the idea that consumer will attend and pay for a movie in the theater for the first three or four months of its life is becoming "increasingly archaic." With the overwhelming majority of multichannel video homes now capable of quality VOD, not to mention the exponential growth of connected TVs and iPads, the movie biz is growing more indistinguishable from the living room biz.

"The fundamental issue is that consumers no longer need to own content... (and they're) also less interested in going out to the movies," Greenfield writes. "Broadband has created competition for a viewer's time and enabled new ways to experience media."

The analyst says VOD via MVPDs has become nearly ubiquitous over the past few years, but video quality and content libraries have only recently began taking significant steps forward. Greenfield notes the HBO Go experience is "night and day" compared to HBO On-Demand, and the aforementioned Xfinity On-Demand via Xbox with Kinect enable both voice and hand gestures for deep menu navigation (vs. old "clunky" remotes for Comcast STBs).

So if these advancements are "raising the bar" on consumer  expectations of video at home, why not enable viewers to simply pay for access and bring the theater to them?

"We believe there would be substantial consumer interest in offering movies in the home four weeks after their theatrical release at $20-$25, and there could be meaningful interest in offering movies day-and-date into the home at prices as high as $50," Greenfield writes. "Consider that in addition to the cost of a movie ticket and the possible inconvenience of leaving the home, there are meaningful expenses for the consumer in going to the movies (Fandango fees, way over-priced concessions, parking, $5/gallon gas and often times babysitting)... Enabling consumers to leverage their in-home technology and reduce a wide array of non-movie costs should fuel consumer spending on movie content itself..." •

DIRECTV Seeing Starz

DIRECTV and Starz Entertainment renewed their multiplatform distribution agreement this week that will provide the satcaster's subs with access to Starz's premium channels in HD and on-demand. The deal also grants DIRECTV the rights to offer Starz Online and Encore Online on its DIRECTV Everywhere service (currently in beta testing) for authenticated Starz SuperPack customers.

Further, the two parties' agreement will enable DIRECTV to launch MoviePLEX, IndiePLEX, and RetroPLEX - and the related MoviePLEX On Demand and MoviePLEX Online - on DIRECTV's TVE service.

DIRECTV currently offers 15 Starz and Encore channels, eight of which are in HD, in addition to Starz On Demand and Encore On Demand. In total, the new deal will see about 600 titles on DIRECTV Everywhere per month with an additional 200 titles once the MoviePLEX suite of services goes live.

Financial terms were undisclosed. Both sides said they were "pleased." •

Judge OKs Trial vs. Comcast - Google vs. Oracle - Hastings Blasts Comcast, Again

Associations: NAB's Gordon Smith – @ NAB in Vegas – told attendees that retransmission is OK.  "The other side says the market is broken, but with nearly all retransmission consent deals being completed successfully. the cable and satellite lobby's notion of 'market failure' is simply false."  Besides, nothing can match broadcast's "lifeline role." --- Come May, MTV Networks won't be on the show floor at NCTA in Boston ... makes one wonder how long "being under the same tent" will remain the mantra.

In Court: A federal judge ruled last week that the 9-year-old Sherman Act complaint that Comcast's market position has allowed it to block competition in Philly and overcharge for service can go to trial. Local press has the story.  --- Oracle v. Google is underway. AllThingsD is calling the battle the "World Series of IP lawsuits."

Rules & Regs: The FCC is fining Google $25K for "deliberately" impeding and delaying the agency's investigation into the company's data collection from non-password protected WiFi networks for its Street View project. Google opponents say the fine is a joke. --- The FCC also notified T-Mobile that it was liable for $819K in fines for "failure to offer the required number of hearing aid-compatible digital wireless handset models." --- Media reform group Free Press opposes the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision last week to allow political ads on public airwaves. --- Let the anti-CISPA campaigns begin. A coalition of internet advocacy groups are digging in. More at PC Mag.

Strategy: DISH started advertising its new multiroom DVR Hopper on social farming game FarmVille. More here.

Disputes: Netflix's Reed Hastings is up to it again... this time calling out Comcast on his personal Facebook page over managed services and net neutrality. His beef is with content viewed with the Xfinity app not counting against a user's data cap, when the same program through Netflix does. TechCrunch has more. --- DIRECTV reached a deal Friday with Pappas Telecasting to end the two sides' weeks-long retrans dispute.

$$$: Time Warner Cable would consider buying a stake in the LA Dodgers in order to negotiate a broadcast deal for the team's games and keep the rights away from Fox Sports, reports the WSJ. --- The NBA's New Orleans Hornets is being acquired by New Orleans Saints (and Fox affiliate WVUE) owner Tom Benson for $338 million. No word on whether there will be a 'bounty' program for basketball stars. --- Mark Cuban yesterday purchased a 7.4% stake in ringtone company Vringo, making him the firm's largest shareholder.

Tech: Level 3 said it has completed the expansion of its content delivery network (CDN), which more than doubles the company's CDN capacity in support of increased demand for reliable and scalable video. --- TV tuner tech firm Hauppauge Digital added recording capabilities to its Broadway live TV streaming app for the iPhone/iPad. --- Mushroom Networks launched StreamerPRO, a new solution for streaming live video to the web.

WebTV: Viewers are commenting on digital platforms about the TV shows they watch... but does it matter? AdAge says here's 'Four Things Social TV Can Do." --- IAC multimedia subsidiary Electus launched its new Hispanic celebrity/pop culture YouTube channel called NeuvOn.

Programming: Cox said it will be the first cable operator to offer subscribers free access to TED On Demand. --- The Beach Boys will perform an exclusive concert on SiriusXM's "Artist Confidential" series this Thursday, April 19. --- WealthTV is debuting a new series called "Insider's Look" - behind-the-scenes view of celebrities, politicians and entrepreneurs, this Sunday, April 22.

M&A: The real reason Facebook dropped $1B on Instagram? Data. Logic+Emotion has the story. --- Mobile tech company Myriad Group said it reached the necessary shareholder approvals  to acquire UK-based Synchronica to develop mobile/social solutions for connected devices. Terms were undisclosed.

Deals: ACTV8.ME inked a partnership deal with Virgin Produced to create new interactive TV content for second-screen initiatives with Fox Broadcasting, Oxygen Network and Mark Burnett Productions.

Service: General Communication subsidiary United Utilities said it will provide terrestrial broadband internet service to 65 rural communities in Bristol Bay and the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta starting in June for $25/month.

SkyREPORT: RRsat signed a contract with ETV, one of the largest networks of satellite TV channels in India, to bring two channels (ETV Kannada and ETV Marathi) to DISH subs in America.

Retail: Best Buy disclosed the 50 big-box stores it will be closing over the next handful of months. --- As OTT consoles continue their evolution to whole-home entertainment centers, one analyst says Sony should slash the price of its PS3 to keep pace with Microsoft's Xbox 360. Read more.

Over, Up, & Under: Trace Sports is launching on Sky in the UK and on DStv from Multichoice in Africa. --- French operator Orange and Microsoft have started to make the Orange TV service available on the Xbox 360 console. --- Horse & Country TV will launch in the Netherlands in June. --- Boxee tweeted that it has only sold 200K of its OTT Boxee Boxes in Israel. The company says it has 2M subs, but 1.8M of them use the free software download.

NAB: Digital mobile TV seems to be all the rage this year at the NAB Show (including M-EAS tests). Get full coverage of the show at TVNewsCheck.

--- Catch today's media market news in The Evening BRIDGE. •