Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is the latest studio to test simultaneous video-on-demand and DVD film releases. The studio quietly put Aug. 4 thriller Obsessed out day and date and plans four more simultaneous releases in the fourth quarter, Sony senior VP of strategic development Jason Spivak said during a panel at the Entertainment Merchant Assn.’s Digital Media Pipeline Tuesday.

Spivak didn’t say which films would be part of the trial. Sony also allowed VOD viewers a 48-hour watching period for Obsessed, double the usual 24-hour period and something other studios also have tested to drive VOD rentals.

Sony joins Warner Home Video, 20th Century Fox and NBC Universal in releasing films on DVD and VOD day and date.

VOD distributors say that simultaneous releases significantly boost VOD transactions. VOD distributor In Demand has found that films released day and date with DVD sell 50% better on VOD than those released later.

In fact, each of the top five VOD renters in the first half of the year had day and date releases. (See chart) They also were completely different titles than the top DVD renters for the same period.

Warner has been the most aggressive, releasing most of its films day and date on DVD and VOD since mid-2007. The studio cites trials with Comcast and Time Warner Cable that showed simultaneous releases boost VOD rentals without hurting DVD sales.

http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6697629.html