ARC Entertainment, the distributor of “The Undefeated,” and Victory Film Group, producers of the film about Gov. Sarah Palin’s rise from obscurity to national prominence, jointly announced that beginning today September 1st, the film is available to 75 million homes via Video on Demand and Pay-Per-View access through national and regional cable and satellite operators.

Taking on the political establishment, The Undefeated chronicles Governor Sarah Palin’s rise from obscurity to become one of America’s new generation of leaders. See for yourself the real story of the woman who is always in the spotlight, but whose story is largely unknown.

This On Demand release coincides with the announced Tea Party rallies in Iowa and New Hampshire over Labor Day weekend.

ARC Entertainment content can be seen on most major cable and satellite companies such as DIRECTV, DISH Network, Comcast, COX, Charter, and Time Warner Cable.

Trevor Drinkwater, CEO of ARC Entertainment, said, “Since the film opened in select markets across the country on July 15th we have been inundated with requests from people wanting the film to be made available in their market. After methodically analyzing the most effective ways to bring this galvanizing film to the widest audience as soon as possible we have determined that Video-on-Demand, Pay-Per-View and DVD sales will be the best modalities by which to deliver this film as widely and as quickly as possible. We have created partnerships with national cable, satellite, and mass retailers to achieve our distribution goals.” (more…)

This seems desperate, a throw it up against the wall strategy to boost stagnant ticket sales and plummeting DVD purchases. If you want to see a movie thirty bucks-bad, wouldn’t you go to the theatre? And if you can wait, why not wait another 30 to 60 days and pay nothing on Netflix or $4.99 on PPV? There will likely be a small market among the very wealthy who don’t see a statistical difference between $30  and $5, people who would buy this, but will it be enough to offset the start up, maintenance, and advertising costs? Smarter people than me are obviously involved in the planning and launch, but smarter people than me came up with this.

Hollywood Reporter:

Narrowing the theatrical window, four Hollywood studios and DirecTV will launch a pricey premium VOD service at the end of April, followed swiftly by Comcast and VUDU. Consumers will be able to see a movie 60 days after its release in theaters.

The move is sure to irk exhibitors, and comes just as studios and theater owners are in Las Vegas for CinemaCon.

Warner Bros., Fox, Sony and Universal are all on board, according to insiders. The movies will be available for 48 hours for $29.99. The first titles to be offered are likely Sony’s Just Go With It, Fox’s Cedar Rapids and Warner Bros.’ Unknown.

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Comcast and NBC-Universal (NBCU) have been waiting to merge for, well, ever. Or at least it seems that way.

Mergers of this sort are supposed to be approved within 180 days of applying to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Justice Department for permission. (As offensive as that may sound – two companies reaching mutually agreeable business terms having to then play Mother May I with the government – that is the way it currently goes.)

Those 180 days expired sometime around Thanksgiving. Yet here we are halfway through January – and Comcast and NBCU are still awaiting the FCC’s blessing. The delay is just another example of the incredible and incredibly damaging sway Media Marxist and Leftist grievance groups have with the current Commission.

The delay has dangled Comcast-NBCU like a piñata, allowing these PIGs (“Public Interest” Groups) to beat shakedown concessions out of them and feed at the trough into which they fall.

We previously pointed out that a racial grievance group – the National Coalition of African-Owned Media (NCAOM) – is demanding that Comcast set aside 50 channels (10% of its capacity) for exclusively African American owners.

In June 2010, California Democrat Representative Maxine Waters and others were obnoxiously voicing their disapproval of the merger. (Yes, the same Maxine Waters who said she wanted to nationalize the entire oil industry.)

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Jeff Zucker is out as the President of NBC and the new owners, Comcast, will be taking full control of this legacy network very soon.  While NBC is one of the biggest names in broadcast history, buying this network is not like a billionaire buying the New England Patriots.  Thanks to years of mismanagement and decisions that seem to have been made after of a bender of Schlitz, pixie sticks, and PCP, the network is in shambles.  For a buyer, this is like sinking your money into the Detroit Lions and hoping for the best. 

There was a considerable span of time where NBC was the dominant force in television.  They were behind a long series of hit shows that included The Cosby Show, Cheers, Night Court, Will and Grace, Seinfeld, Hill Street Blues, etc.  NBC’s “Must See TV” lineup gave people reasons to stay conscious on a Thursday evening that didn’t involve preparing their livers for a Friday night of clubbing.  Something happened in 2004.  Maybe it was the re-election of George W.  Bush or maybe it was the ending of their last truly great series “Friends,” but at some point in time that year, something broke both NBC’s spirit and their brain.  

It started simply enough.  Then Network President, Jeff Zucker, tried to replace “Friends” with two sub standard shows, Coupling and Joey.  Coupling was a British show that NBC tried to bring to an American audience.  The problem was that this program was the Brits low rent version of Friends.  Replacing a popular show, with something that looks a little like it, but without the charm is sort of like trying to replace your first love with a latex based product bought at a Fredrick’s of Hollywood outlet.  It’s just not the same.  Coupling didn’t work out and neither did the show, Joey.  Building a spin-off around the least intriguing character of the Friends cast was a mistake on par with the New Coke, the show After M.A.S.H. and “Hope and Change.”  After that the bad decisions just kept on coming.  (more…)

There’s something absurdly satisfying about watching leftists attack other leftists using leftist tactics. NBC is just now discovering that their ObamaVision push last year coupled with their obtuse propaganda arm over at NBC News and MSNBC made them the perfect target for a racial demagogue like Rep. Maxine Waters. NBC bending over when it comes to all things PC and Obama probably had them under the mistaken impression that their appeasement would satisfy Leftist Bullies like Waters, when all it really does is invite more bullying. 

Comcast and NBC want to merge. This is a very big deal that will require much government blessing and Waters is using the opportunity to her fullest advantage to push what can only be described as a racist agenda that demands individuals at NBC be hired based on the color of their skin.

Paul Bond at the Hollywood Reporter:

“How many of the executive producers for your 2010 fall lineup are minorities?” [Rep. Waters] asked Paula Madison, executive vp of diversity at NBC Uni.

Sorry to interrupt but… “Executive VP of Diversity?” Do you think for a moment that diversity of ideas or political points of view falls under their charge? If you watch any branch or arm of NBC you know the answer. (more…)

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