In February, the film industry as we know it may change forever. That's when "Bubble," a low-budget murder mystery directed by Steven Soderbergh, will appear in theaters — and on cable, and on DVD, all on the same day. The movie is the first in a six-film deal between Soderbergh and 2929 Entertainment, a partnership led by the media moguls Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner, which includes theaters, cable channels and production and distribution companies. While no one expects "Bubble" to break box-office records, even a modicum of success could indicate the arrival of something many in the movie business have anticipated — and feared — for years: universal release.
—Clay Risen, "Collapsing the Distribution Window," The New York Times, December 11, 2005

Well before it reaches the silver screen this autumn, Bubble, a murder mystery set in small-town Ohio, is emerging as one of Hollywood's most talked-about films. It is not the cast, which will be made up of local people, or the budget, a pittance by Hollywood standards, that is creating such a buzz. It is the fact that Bubble will be the motion picture industry's first "universal release", made available simultaneously in cinemas, on home video and through pay television.
—Joshua Chaffin, "Screen Test," Financial Times, August 11, 2005

PETER SEALEY, HAAS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, UC-BERKELEY

One day, "King Kong" is gonna be released on Friday, December 14th, it'll be released theatrically around the world, DVD around the world, Pay-Per-View around the world. That's where the marketplace is going.

BRIAN ROONEY

(VO) The Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh of "Traffic" has joined with the Internet billionaire, who bought the Dallas Mavericks basketball team to do just that.

MARK CUBAN, DALLAS MAVERICKS OWNER

Once you start giving the customer what they want, when they want it, how they want it, they'll pay you for it.

BRIAN ROONEY

(OC) The theory is that it already costs a fortune to market movies for shorter and shorter runs in the theaters. So why not market once, and sell all at once, in theaters, on DVD, and by satellite all over the world? ...

BRIAN ROONEY

(VO) Mark Cuban says digital distribution and universal release will expand both the audience and the profits, while curbing piracy.
—"Hollywood Blues: Finding an Audience," ABC News Transcripts, July 17, 2005