Napster co-founder’s idea for set-top box to screen new film releases could be revolutionary
Sean Parker and his music exec partner call it The Screening Room, and it would let home subscribers see films the day they land in cinemas. It’s an idea that’s sharply divided the film industry. Would it fly in Hong Kong? Or China?
Small enough to nestle next to your television, it’s also big enough to send shock waves through Hollywood.
Ever since information was leaked in March about The Screening Room, the new proposal from Sean Parker, the co-founder of file-sharing site Napster, and music industry executive Prem Akkaraju, rifts have appeared across the film industry. A-List directors, studio executives and cinema exhibitors have sided into opposing camps, either for or against a piece of kit that looks set to revolutionise the movie-going experience.
Then again, perhaps that should be read “movie-staying” experience.
The nub of Parker and Akkaraju’s proposal, one that’s been hawked around Hollywood these past few months, is to provide consumers with the chance to watch brand new movies from the comfort of their homes on the very same day they’re launched in cinemas.
Willing viewers will be required to pay US $150 for a set-top box fitted with anti-piracy technology, before shelling out US$50 to stream a movie over a 48-hour period.
