Napster co-founder Sean Parker is developing The Screening Room, a new day-and-date movie streaming service promising to bring new theatrical releases into the home for $50 apiece.
Parker is currently talking to US studios about his plan, which he developed in cooperation with SFX Entertainment Prem Akkaraju. People need to buy a dedicated set-top box for $150 and would pay $50 for each new movie. Upon purchase, people would have a 48-hour window to watch the movie.
According to Variety three major studios, Universal, Fox and Sony, are already showing serious interest. The co-founders also claim that they’re close to signing a deal with movie theatre chain AMC.
Studios would receive $25 of every sale, local theatres $20, with $5 remaining for The Screening Room. The price would also include two movie tickets to the cinema.
It is not the first time that such a plan surfaces. Until now, there is a 90 days window before new theatrical releases can be seen on other media.
Several years ago, Universal tried to release – as an experiment – Tower Heist on video-on-demand for $60 just three weeks after it opened in theaters, but ha to back off after protests from theatre owners.
