Audio Video News

Network television may be on the decline, but the film industry is stronger than ever. American movie fans bought almost $3 billion worth of movie tickets over the summer of 1999, exceeding the all-time high of $2.6 billion, set the previous year. This year, 11 movies pulled in more than $100 million each, and ticket sales for the year to date are up 6%.

There won't be any end to the blitz of new movies and television shows, thanks to an agreement reached late July 3 between members of the <A HREF="http://www.sag.org">Screen Actors Guild</A> (SAG), the <A HREF="http://www.aftra.org">American Federation of Television and Radio Artists</A> (AFTRA), and Hollywood film studios. Actors agreed to keep working beyond the expiration date of their old contract on June 30; discussions were said to be "amicable" and "low-key."

One abiding dream for film industry executives is to bypass all the middlemen involved in distribution and sell movies directly to consumers&mdash;repeatedly, by the millions.

Video-on-demand (VOD) got another boost last week when <A HREF="http://www.mediahawk.com">Concurrent Computer Corporation</A> and <A HREF="http://www.sciatl.com">Scientific-Atlanta, Inc.</A> announced that they have sealed their agreement to jointly develop and supply "full-function true VOD systems." The agreement finalizes a letter of intent announced in May and follows an April 1998 VOD agreement between Scientific-Atlanta and SeaChange International (profiled in a <A HREF="http://www.guidetohometheater.com/shownews.cgi?138">previous story</A>).