The release of “Trolls World Tour” this past weekend finally brings years of talk about the possibility of ‘Premium VOD’ into reality.
In the early days of that talk though was an initiative known as ‘Screening Room,’ a proposed secure VOD streaming service that would have allowed home viewing of brand-new theatrical films for a higher price than a traditional rental.
The project caused a major stir among exhibitors, but the talk died out as the project seemed to collapse. Years went by and more regular streaming services continuing to dominate the marketplace.
Now though, the company is back under the new name SR Labs and with a new CEO – former Sony Pictures Home Entertainment president Man Jit Singh. The company, co-founded by Napster’s Sean Parker, has also secured $27.5 million worth of funding even as it’s unclear how far along this incarnation of the tech has progressed.
Parker says the primary goal of SR Labs isn’t to see the end of theatrical distribution, but rather save the industry, but there’s no timetable for a release of SR Labs’ product.
Source: Variety
