Sony Expands Digital & Theatrical Release of 'The Interview'

Sony Pictures Entertainment has reached agreements with top US cable, satellite and telco TV providers to distribute the controversial comedy "The Interview" via video-on-demand and pay-per-view services.

The studio has said that more than 250 additional independent theaters will exhibit the movie starting Friday.

The providers that will offer the film, blamed for triggering a massive cyber attack on Sony's movie studio, include Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox and Bright House Networks (affiliates of InDemand); DirecTV; Verizon FiOS TV; and Charter Communications, Cablevision and AT&T U-verse TV (affiliates of Vubiquity).

Earlier, Sony canceled the Christmas Day release of "The Interview", which stars Seth Rogen and James Franco as journalists recruited by the CIA to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, after hackers threatened violence against movie theaters and major theater chains refused to show it.

Dish Network is the only major US pay-TV provider not currently slated to offer "The Interview."

In addition, the film will be available via Vudu, Walmart's digital VOD service, and via Sony's PlayStation Network, Thursday.