In an effort to promote and capitalize on the videos on demand (VOD) option, cable companies are entering into a $30 million advertising campaign with Hollywood studios, the Hollywood Reporter announced on March 17.

With theater prices rising and the recession continuing, more people are turning to VOD to watch the latest releases. After accepting this fact, cable companies and Hollywood studios decided to launch the television, print and internet ad campaign, titled “The Video Store Just Moved In.” The campaign is focused on showing digital cable subscribers how easy it is to use their remotes to order movies on demand.

Some of the movie studios who are participating in the campaign are Time Warner’s Warner Bros Entertainment, News Corp.’s 20th Century Fox, Sony Pictures Entertainment and NBC Universal’s Universal Pictures and its division companies, Focus Features, Rogue, Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment. The cable companies who are taking part in the campaign include Comcast Corp., Time Warner Cable, Cox, Cablevision’s digital service iO TV, Insight, Armstrong, Bend Broadband and Bright House Networks.

The movie companies seem to like the campaign, which will be releasing such hit movies as ‘The Blind Side’ and ‘The Fantastic Mr. Fox’ in the coming weeks. For example, the President of the Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, Kevin Tsujihara, said that the VOD option is a great way for people to rent movies, as “They are reasonably priced and always available.” He added that there will be more new releases than ever before that will premiere on demand closer to their theatrical release date.

The President for Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Worldwide, Mike Dunn, also agreed that the campaign is a great idea, saying “We’ve seen on-demand rentals hit an all-time high this past year, and research shows that it will continue to grow.”

Written by: Karen Benardello