I've been wondering why I'm so unwilling to dig into the VOD channels on
Time-Warner Cable... Even the free ones.

I think I have the answer.

There is a fundamental difference (in my head at least) between the way I
experience television and the way I watch movies.

TV is disposable. I watch it, fast forward (tivo) through boring parts or
plot lines I don't like, and don't fee any commitment to the material.

On the other hand movies are an event. Whether it's a DVD from Netflix, a
rental from Channel Video, or a VOD movie from Time Warner - it's a much
less casual experience.

Some of that is length. A 90 min movie isn't something you can breeze
through. And since I often don't get to watching a movie or TV until 10pm
at night...

And then there's the risk of starting a movie that I don't want to stick
with. Ordinarily that wouldn't be hard - but every now and then, I'll
settle in to a movie that I think I'm going to like, and my wife and I will
have a split decision. Ok, it doesn't happen often. But when it does, one
of us has 90min of dreck to try and tune out.

For filmmakers - the fear of commitment to a film on VOD may mean we need to wait longer than we might hope to get viewers to take risks on things they haven't heard about.