DirecTV Cinema
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

DirecTV Cinema (previously known as Direct Ticket, Blockbuster Ticket, Blockbuster Pay-Per-View Movies, and DirecTV Pay-Per-View) is
DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. It ...
's
video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...
and
pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
platform for film content. Films are released as is done on other pay-TV services, along with exclusive film premieres priced at premium rates before entering theatrical distribution.


History

Launched with DirecTV in 1994, the Direct Ticket service, as it was known then, carried much the same output as other PPV services did: first-run movies (starting every half-hour), sports, and other special events. The service originally took up channels 101 through 199 when it first began. It had a distinct advantage over cable-based services such as Viewer's Choice and
Request TV Request TV, also known as Request Television, is a defunct pay-per-view service owned by Liberty Media and Twentieth Century Fox that was launched in November 1985. Request TV was originally owned by Reiss Media Enterprises; Group W Satellite C ...
, in that due to DirecTV's digital compression technology, it enabled them to transmit more channels that it could reserve to offer pay-per-view content to customers. (Most cable systems of the era had headend capacities capable of transmitting only one or two PPV channels; at the time, however, some systems had begun to make system upgrades within their service areas to increase channel capacity, allowing them to offer as many as five PPV channels in these so-called "rebuild areas", depending on the provider.) Furthermore, because a phone jack was built into the
Digital Satellite System Digital Satellite System is the initialism expansion of the DSS digital satellite television transmission system used by DirecTV. Only when digital transmission was introduced did direct broadcast satellite (DBS) television become popular in North ...
(DSS) set-top boxes, PPV purchases could be made directly through the set-top-box mere minutes before or even during a movie or event; cable subscribers would have to call a phone number to authorize the purchase hours in advance. Movies were offered for as little as $3.99 a showing. New movies would be added every week. Also offered by DirecTV were several sports-oriented PPV services, most notably
NFL Sunday Ticket NFL Sunday Ticket is an out-of-market sports package that broadcasts National Football League (NFL) regular season games unavailable on local affiliates. It carries all regional Sunday afternoon games produced by Fox and CBS. The ideal customer o ...
; these services were promoted separately from the other PPV channels. By 1996, DirecTV had expanded the capabilities of the Direct Ticket service to include
Dolby Surround Dolby Pro Logic is a surround sound processing technology developed by Dolby Laboratories, designed to decode soundtracks encoded with Dolby Surround. Dolby Stereo (also known as ''Dolby MP'' or ''Dolby SVA'') was developed by Dolby in 1976 f ...
sound, broadcasting films in letterbox format, and the "All-Day Ticket" (meaning once a program was purchased, it could be viewed on any Direct Ticket channel showing it until 6:00 a.m. the following day). Via the alternate audio functionality on the DSS boxes, select films could also be viewed with Spanish audio. In 2001, the Direct Ticket service was rebranded as Blockbuster Ticket, as part of a joint marketing venture between DirecTV and
Blockbuster Blockbuster or Block Buster may refer to: *Blockbuster (entertainment) a term coined for an extremely successful movie, from which most other uses are derived. Corporations * Blockbuster (retailer), a defunct video and game rental chain ** Bl ...
that began in 2000 (though the rebranding did not take effect until 2001, as Blockbuster needed to meet sales goals for the DirecTV service itself); it was partially a means of Blockbuster attempting to stay ahead of the curve technology-wise. This meant that Blockbuster stores would now promote the Blockbuster Ticket service in-store at their pre-existing DirecTV kiosks. Blockbuster also received a cut of PPV revenue from DirecTV customers who signed up at a Blockbuster store. Event programming continued to use the Direct Ticket name and was not co-branded. By 2005, the Blockbuster venture had ended and the service was renamed simply to DirecTV Pay-Per-View. However, advances in technology meant DirecTV could now being offering video-on-demand services as its cable rivals did, in conjunction with PPV service. DirecTV On Demand requires an internet connection, and for some viewers, that isn't an option; thus, DirecTV Cinema (as it became known by 2012) continues to offer traditional pay-per-view service, now on channels 126 through 177. A 4K Cinema channel is offered on channel 107. DirecTV currently has deals with film distributors
A24 A24 is an American independent entertainment company that specializes in film and television production, as well as film distribution. It is based in New York City. A24 was founded in 2012 by Daniel Katz, David Fenkel and John Hodges. Pr ...
and
Vertical Entertainment Vertical Entertainment is an American film distribution and production company founded by producers Richard B. "Rich" Goldberg and Mitch Budin in 2012. History In 2012, Rich Goldberg & Mitch Budin founded Vertical Entertainment, a film distribut ...
to release select films exclusively on the platform, 30 days prior to their theatrical releases. In December 2014, it was announced DirecTV Cinema would premiere digitally re-mastered versions by
Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein (; born March 19, 1952) is an American former film producer and convicted sex offender. He and his brother, Bob Weinstein, co-founded the entertainment company Miramax, which produced several successful independent films inclu ...
of the films ''
El Cid Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (c. 1043 – 10 July 1099) was a Castilian knight and warlord in medieval Spain. Fighting with both Christian and Muslim armies during his lifetime, he earned the Arabic honorific ''al-sīd'', which would evolve into El ...
'' and '' Circus World'' exclusively for the month of January 2015.


References

{{AT&T DirecTV Video on demand services Pay-per-view television stations in the United States