The "Family Pass": A way for theaters to combat Premium VOD

A few days ago, I wrote about the firestorm in the U.S. film industry over plans by Fox, Warner Bros., Universal and Sony to make some of their movies available to DirecTV, Comcast and VUDU for a Premium VOD service 60 days after they open in theaters. The premium in-home movies would cost $30 each and would be available for viewing for 48 hours from the time of purchase.

One of the arguments for Premium VOD is that movie tickets for a family cost a lot of money--tickets for a family with two parents and two kids could easily cost more than $30, plus food and drink. However, theaters could lessen the impact with a "Family Pass" that allows two adults and up to four children to see a single film, even at regular showings, for less than $30. That would allow the theaters to compete on price with the Premium VOD service. The theaters would still be able to make their normal concession stand food and drink sales, and they could argue "Why wait 60 days to save a few dollars when you can watch a movie when it's fresh?".

 Theater owners want to keep Premium VOD from gaining traction, and a "Family Pass" might be the way to do so.