Hollywood has firmed up its plans to roll out premium VOD next month.Warner Bros., Sony, Universal and 20th Century Fox are the first studios that have agreed to launch Home Premiere as the industry’s official brand that will offer up movies to rent for $30 two months after their theatrical bows for a two- to three-day viewing period, depending on the distributor.

DirecTV will exclusively launch Home Premiere nationally to its nearly 20 million customers, while cablers like Comcast will introduce the service in certain cities for an undisclosed period of time, sometime around the end of April.

The first films that are expected to launch include Warner Bros.’ actioner “Unknown” and Sony’s Adam Sandler comedy “Just Go With It,” sources close to the new service say. However, the titles could change as the rollout gets closer.

The launch plans come months after studios have hinted that they would soon experiment with offering higher-priced rentals of films closer to their theatrical runs as a way to help boost their homevideo operations with film campaigns still fresh in moviegoers’ minds.

WB, U and Fox have already succeeded in fending off companies like Netflix and Redbox, forcing them to wait 28 days after a film bows on DVD to offer those titles for rent through their online services and kiosks. Those same studios wouldn’t mind lengthening that window even longer and have considered pursuing such talks.

On the premium VOD front, the majors say they’re missing out on audiences who aren’t making the trip to the megaplex because of the size of their families or the expense to hire babysitters or pay for food and other concessions. Exhibitors worry that having auds pay a higher price point to watch family fare at home might get them used to staying away from theaters over the long run.

Either way, the premium VOD plans are coming together the same week that studios rolled out the red carpet for exhibitors in Las Vegas as they unspool footage from their upcoming tentpoles at CinemaCon.

Studios argue that offering up films 60 days after their theatrical run wouldn’t hurt the box office for theater chains, given that most films generate most of their coin during their first three months.

The majors also say they wouldn’t release any films via Home Premiere that are still performing well at the B.O.

DVDs and Blu-rays for films typically bow 90 days after a pic’s theatrical run, although that’s been shrinking for higher-profile titles.

A specific launch date was not revealed for Home Premiere, but sources told Variety it would occur at the end of April.

DirecTV has recently launched a more aggressive effort to encourage its customers to upgrade their set top boxes to be able to connect to the Internet as it readies to launch Home Premiere.

Comcast, meanwhile, is eyeing Home Premiere as a way to bolster its pay-TV market share through enhancements of its broadband-based Xfinity TV service.

DirecTV was initially targeting a trial launch this summer, DirecTV chief Michael White said in February, during which “we’ll try something that’s four to six weeks from theatrical release.”

Studios have obviously talked DirecTV into compromising to a longer release window since then.

One reason: the major theater chains, including Regal Entertainment, have threatened not to release films should they become available during a six-week window via premium VOD.

On the last day of CinemaCon, NATO issued a strong statement against the plan. “On behalf of its members, the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO) expresses our surprise and strong disappointment,” NATO said in a statement. NATO also cited piracy concerns and attacked the plan for risking the Hollywood’s revenues.

“They risk damaging theatrical revenues without actually delivering what the home consumer seems to want, which is flexibility, portability and a low price. These plans fundamentally alter the economic relationship between exhibitors, filmmakers and producers, and the studios taking part in this misguided venture,” the statement said.

The Digital Entertainment Group, which helped Hollywood launch and brand Blu-ray, will assist in building the Home Premiere brand.

Contact Marc Graser at marc.graser@variety.com