Why Streaming Movies Are Becoming the New Direct-To-Video

It would be easy to brush off the streaming debut as just a publicity stunt for a household name with deep pockets. But increasingly, mid-level films that might have once gone straight to DVD are now targeting streaming services as their release platforms. [...] DVD is unlikely to go away. But with a full 40 percent of American households subscribe to a streaming service (up more than five percentage points from last year, according to Nielsen), so digital distribution can make sound financial sense. We’ve come a long way since Ed Burns’ “Purple Violets” was the first national-level film to independently distribute digitally on iTunes in 2007. - Heather Newman, Forbes [via/web:http://streaming-tv.us]