9:27 p.m. | Updated
LOS ANGELES — For Comcast, it was a hard lesson in movie industry politics: on Wednesday its Universal Studios unit, under severe pressure from theater owners, suddenly tabled a plan to allow the early release on video-on-demand of its forthcoming film “Tower Heist” in two test markets.
The plan would have offered the film on Comcast digital services in Atlanta and Portland, Ore., just three weeks after its Nov. 4 theatrical release, for a premium price of $59.99. But it drew immediate objections from exhibitors, who have fiercely resisted studio attempts to put some films on satellite and cable services while they are still in theaters. Several chains, including Cinemark, one of the country’s largest, had said they would not book “Tower Heist” if Universal went ahead with the test.
In a statement on Wednesday, Universal said that it was delaying what it called an on-demand “experiment,” but that it continued to believe that theatrical viewing and premium on-demand services “are business models that can coincide and thrive.” The high price of on-demand shows suggests they are aimed at group viewing at home.
John Fithian, the president of the National Association of Theater Owners, thanked Universal in a statement “for responding to various theater owners’ concerns and canceling” the test.
The trade association is barred by law from coordinating business decisions among its members, but it has made clear its intention to protect the exclusive window of about 120 days in which theaters typically show a movie without competition from other media. Comcast, a cable giant that took control of NBC Universal earlier this year, has been closely watched as a potential leader in moving film studios toward more aggressive use of online and cable outlets. Even before Comcast assumed control, however, Adam Fogelson, Universal’s chairman, had been exploring the early release of films to on-demand services.
Earlier this year, Universal joined Sony Pictures Entertainment, 20th Century Fox and Warner Brothers in striking an arrangement under which DirectTV was to release some films two months after their theatrical release, for about $30 a showing.
A handful of movies, like Sony’s “Just Go With It,” with Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler, were selected for a first, largely experimental round of premium showings. It remains unclear whether any substantial revenue was raised by them.
“Tower Heist” stars Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy, among others, and is directed by Brett Ratner. Already, it has attracted more than its share of attention, as Mr. Murphy was recently named the host of next year’s Oscar broadcast, and Mr. Ratner is one of its producers. But the Universal on-demand plan, word of which surfaced in press reports earlier this month, brought more resistance among exhibitors.
In his statement, Mr. Fithian said his organization recognized that studios needed to find new ways to shore up a sagging home entertainment market, and would work with distributors and exhibitors “for their mutual benefit.” Universal stressed that it still expected to work out a viable on-demand plan with the help of theater owners.
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