Looking to boost sales of kid-focused movies ahead of family summer vacations and go give its new electronic sell-through (EST) another shot in the arm, Comcast is about to kick off a promo that will pitch discounted electronic copies of The Lego Movie and nearly 100 other titles less than $10 each.
Comcast’s Movie Kids Promo, which runs from May 20-May 26, comes more than six months after the MSO launches its Xfinity Digital Store, an EST platform that locks horns with other multiscreen services such as Apple iTunes, M-GO, Target Ticket, Amazon Instant Video, and Vudu, among others.
The flagship of the promotion will be The Lego Movie, which goes on sale electronically tomorrow (May 20), four weeks before its DVD release. Other kids titles priced at $9.99 in HD or $7.99 in standard-definition during the tilt include The Nut Job, E.T.,The Wizard of Oz, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, the Harry Potter series, and Night At The Museum.
Starting May 21, Comcast will also “unlock” one movie title a day that can be purchased for 99 cents, Nancy Spears, Comcast Cable’s VP, digital media distribution and monetization, noted in this blog post.
Comcast currently allows subs to purchase titles from the store via the set-top box and the Web. It has also launched Xfinity ON Demand Purchases apps for iOS and Android tablets and smartphones that playback bought titles that can be streamed or downloaded to the device.
Comcast has EST deals with Twentieth Century Fox, Lionsgate, MGM, NBCUniversal, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros.
In a recent interview, Comcast Cable senior vice president and general manager, video services, Matt Strauss said one of the big EST-related priorities this year includes the expansion of its catalog and to consider new bundling options that, for example, will enable customers to buy multiple titles together, as well as a pre-order distribution models.
For a deeper dive into cable’s EST strategies, please see this recent feature story.
