Cable Show: Comcast Wants Debut Day Movie Releases; TW Cable’s Catch Up Service

Talk about smashing windows: Comcast COO Stephen Burke spoke at the Cable Show in Vegas today, and said his company has held talks with studios to show movies on cable on the same day as they open in theaters, reports Reuters, and that several were “very interested” in the possibility….he speculated subscribers could be charged $30 to $50 to watch an opening-day movie at home. Most ‘windows’ discussions have focused on closing the gap between when movie DVDs go to retailers rather than as PPV cable offerings, so this might be a very tough one to achieve anytime soon.
Variety: “I’m sure some movie theaters won’t like the added competition,” he said. “But at the end of the day, it’s about giving consumers what they want. Anybody who doesn’t do that is going to get left behind.”

Meanwhile, Time Warner Cable, the second biggest cable company also said it is planning a new service called ‘Catch-Up’ which would allow subscribers to view recent first-run TV shows, and Quick Clips, which would offer video content from the Web via the cable box. All would be aired with no possibility of fast-forwarding through commercials, said Glen Britt, CEO of TWC. This would be similar TWC’s “Start Over” service, which allows viewers to start over a program if they come in mid-way through the broadcast.

I am in Vegas and will be reporting from the Cable Show tomorrow and Wednesday…also speaking on a VOD panel tomorrow afternoon so stop by if you’re around.

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