Movies at Home, for $20,000

A proposed service aims to bring movies to homes the same day they hit theaters, a milestone that Hollywood has long anticipated with a mixture of fear and fascination.

But there's a catch: At the prices currently being discussed by Prima Cinema Inc., the start-up that is touting the service, those movies will reach only world's the best-appointed living rooms.

Prima plans to charge customers a one-time fee of about $20,000 for a digital-delivery system and an additional $500 per film. The Los Angeles-based company has around $5 million in backing from the venture arm of Best Buy Co. and General Electric Co.'s Universal Pictures, and hopes to start delivering movies to customers as soon as a year from now.

The steep price has been met with mixed reactions in Hollywood. Some executives question whether it will be possible to build a market beyond a few thousand users. (Prima says it plans to install its systems in 250,000 homes within five years.) Others say the high price would create an exclusive, super-premium niche market without cutting into existing sources of revenue.

Prima isn't the only company trying to bring movies to homes faster. Time Warner Inc., which owns Warner Bros., has said it expects to test an early-release offering with a new film as soon as next year. Under the program, consumers would pay roughly $20 to $30 to watch digital copies of movies within a month or two of their release in theaters.

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Parks Associates at CES: Connected devices, 3D content, storage, and support services will provide new opportunities for industry growth in 2010

Parks Associates market analysts will present new research and provide insight and commentary about new business strategies, new technologies, and consumer demand for connected CE and services at multiple speaking events during the 2010 International CES (Consumer Electronics Show).

Parks Associates will host the fourth-annual CONNECTIONS™ Summit: Monetizing Connectivity in the Home on January 7, the first day of CES. The analysts will also participate at Digital Media Insider, Digital Health Summit, and Digital Hollywood on January 8 and 9.

CONNECTIONS™ Summit will kick off CES on Thursday, January 7. The Summit will feature interactive panels with over 20 leading technology companies including IBM, Yahoo!, and Sony. Executives will discuss business strategies for service providers, status of energy management deployment and adoption, and the changing CE purchase patterns for consumers.

Parks Associates will also participate in the following CES events:

- Kurt Scherf, VP & Principal Analyst, will speak at an Analyst and Press Roundtable “What’s the Scoop at CES?” at Digital Media Insider @ CES on Friday, January 8, 3:15-3:55 P.M. at The Venetian, Las Vegas, Ballrooms 3204-05/3304-05.

- Harry Wang, Director, Health & Mobile Product Research, will participate on the panel “Consumers Driving Healthcare: Capitalizing on the Opportunities” at Digital Health Summit at CES on Saturday, January 9, 9:00-9:45 A.M. in LVCC, North Hall, Ballroom N253.

- Heather Way, Research Analyst, will moderate the panel “Internet Video, Advertising & Marketing: The Next Generation of Consumer Reach” at Digital Hollywood @ CES on Saturday, January 9, 10:30-11:30 A.M. in the LVCC, North Hall N261.