DirecTV (Nasdaq: DTV) is "first out of the gate" with a $29.95 early release VoD (video on demand) offering, so Comcast's (Nasdaq: CMCSA) reported move into the space with a similar offer is "between them and the studios," Derek Chang, DirecTV's executive vice president of content strategy and development told The Hollywood Reporter following an executive presentation to shareholders.
Chang called the satellite provider's early release VoD offering a "premium product for a premium set of customers" and predicted it will succeed--whether Comcast enters the competition or not. "It's not an exclusive product and was never intended to be."
Chang was less open about reports that DirecTV would begin a streaming video service to compete with Netflix and other over-the-top providers.
"We are trying to prepare ourselves for the future (and) clearly there are different distribution technologies and methods that didn't exist years ago," he said, concluding that DirecTV is in an "evaluation process."
For more:
- the Hollywood Reporter has this story
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