Update: DIRECTV added the 'Home Premiere' button back to the VOD home page last Friday, but it's still not promoting the films. You have to click on the Home Premiere button to find out which movies are available for $30 a viewing. (The Home Page instead is populated with pictures of VOD movies costing $4.99 or $5.99.) It makes you wonder if DIRECTV will soon give up on the $30 VOD concept.

News Analysis
DIRECTV's $30 VOD: Why Theater Owners Shouldn't Worry
By Swanni

Washington, D.C. (June 30, 2011) -- In early June, I told you that DIRECTV seemed to be losing interest in its controversial new $30 'Home Premiere' VOD service. On the satcaster's on-screen VOD home page, DIRECTV suddenly stopped promoting Home Premiere releases. Instead, the satcaster began highlighting four films that were available in its traditional $4.99/$5.99 PPV lineup.

This was in sharp contrast to how DIRECTV marketed its Home Premiere films during the first two months of the service, which began in early April despite protests from theater owners. From the Home Premiere debut of Just Go For It to films such as The Adjustment Bureau and Battle of Los Angeles, DIRECTV prominently featured a picture of each Home Premiere movie with an 'Order Now' button on the VOD Home Page.

The promotional shift in early June was not exactly a ringing endorsement of $30 VOD, which DIRECTV and the studios have suggested could be the start of Americans choosing to watch new theatrical films at home instead of in the theater. (The $30 VOD lineup includes films that are still playing in some theaters, which is why the price to order is so high.)

And now there's even stronger evidence that DIRECTV has fallen out of love with Home Premiere. For the past four days, DIRECTV has not even offered a Home Premiere movie in its VOD lineup.

That's right. On the DIRECTV VOD home page, the 'Home Premiere' menu option has been removed. Soul Surfer, which is supposed to be featured in the Home Premiere lineup, can not even be located using DIRECTV's on-screen guide search feature.

Earlier this week, TVPredictions.com asked DIRECTV's customer service department for an explanation. A "DIRECTV Resolution Specialist' responded yesterday:

"I understand your concern about the Home Premiere not showing on channel 1100 (the VOD Home Page). After looking at our system here, it doesn't show on your TV, either. It is possible that it was removed early as the only movie on right now is Soul Surfer...I have forwarded your concern to the proper department to have this looked into and try to resolve this as quickly as possible."

As I noted earlier, Soul Surfer actually isn't available -- at $30 or any price.

If the Home Premiere films were generating strong interest, it's hard to see DIRECTV removing the $30 ($29.95 to be exact) releases, even for a few days. The fact that DIRECTV is not offering any Home Premiere release on the VOD Home Page could suggest the company has reached the conclusion that its $3.99/$4.99 menu will make more money.

In fact, it should be no surprise that consumers are reluctant to pay $30 to watch a single movie.

However, movie theater owners have howled that $30 VOD will lead to fewer consumers going to the theater. If DIRECTV's Home Premiere is any barometer at all, they have nothing to worry about it.

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