Share:
In another twist to a story that grows stranger by the day, Sony reportedly enlisted help from the White House in a failed bid to get the interview released on iTunes.
The New York Times (via The Verge) says Sony called in the Obama administration to line up a “single technology partner” to get the film released on demand.
According to the report, Apple wasn’t interested “at least on a speedy time scale,” the NYT’s sources claim.
Sony is still expected to announce a digital release for The Interview on Wednesday, but the portal remains unclear.
The firm has apparently ruled out releasing it on Crackle (which was rumoured earlier this week) and YouTube because it must exhaust all for-profit options before dumping its investments for free.
Whether the under-fire entertainment giant is able to find a willing streaming partner to join the independent cinemas showing The Interview, remains to be seen.
Any streaming portal or TV on demand provider would instantly make themselves a target for the hackers and if none step forward, Sony could choose to make it available on demand through its smart TVs or PlayStation consoles too.
However, given The Interview’s status as the most talked about movie in the world, and Americans’ desire to ‘stick it to the terrorists’ by tuning in, there’s likely to be a significant pot of cash on the table for any provider willing to take a chance.
Read more: PS4 vs Xbox One
We’ll keep you posted on any developments today.