Sony Pictures Entertainment announced that it has signed agreements with cable, satellite and telecom companies to bring the controversial movie The Interview into the living rooms of consumers in the United States.
The pending launch of the movie on cable and satellite TV will greatly expand the digital release of the film. Sony Pictures already expanded the theatrical run of The Interview in the country to over 580 locations, compared to the previous number of 331 theaters, beginning Jan. 2.
The Interview is a comedy film that depicts a fictional assassination plot against Kim Jong Un, the leader of North Korea, carried out by a TV show host and his producer, played by actors James Franco and Seth Rogen.
The movie became the subject of controversy and was thrown into the center of an uproar for free speech last month when major theaters decided to hold the film's release amid threats by the hackers that extracted massive amounts of confidential information from the systems of Sony Pictures. The hackers threatened to unleash violence on all locations that will be playing The Interview, invoking the dreaded 9/11 attacks.
Sony Pictures, facing intense criticism for cancelling the original release of The Interview in theaters, pushed through with releasing the movie for online sale and rental. A select number of theaters also decided to continue with the planned release of the movie.
Several cable and satellite TV companies will be making the movie available to consumers through on-demand and pay-per-view services. Included in the companies that signed the agreement with Sony Pictures are AT&T U-verse, Bright House, Cablevision, Charter Communications, Comcast, Cox Communications, DirecTV, Time Warner Cable and Verizon FiOS.
Releasing the movie through cable and satellite TV was the last major component of Sony Pictures' plans to distribute the movie to the homes of American consumers.
Vudu, the digital on-demand service of Walmart has also been offering The Interview, joining other services including Apple's iTunes, Google Play, Xbox Video, YouTube Movies and more.
The new partners for Sony Pictures' release of the movie initially did not agree to release The Interview, as the companies cited their concerns of possibly becoming targets by the hackers that took down and infiltrated the systems of Sony Pictures.
Through Jan. 1, The Interview has raked in $3.5 million in theaters, and as of Dec. 27, Sony Pictures said that the movie had already made over $15 million in digital rentals and sales, which is a record amount for the studio.
