A Time Warner (NYSE: TWC-WI) proposal to charge $20 or $30 to watch new release movies at home via VoD within 30 days of their theater debuts should, if nothing else, make people tally up how much a night out at the flicks costs these days. While the $30 price tag might seem exorbitant, it's probably less than it would cost for parking, a couple tickets, some popcorn, soda and the inevitable box of Goobers.
On a serious note, Time Warner's CFO John Martin said that the movie service will likely launch in an experimental phase "perhaps as early as sometime the beginning of next year." The idea shouldn't threaten DVD sales, he said and "is likely to be positive for the studios." Theaters are another matter, of course, and theater owners are likely to be less than thrilled with this idea.
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