Studios, it seems according to the BBC, are re-thinking their ideas of combating piracy, it actually looks like they are beginning to change their mindset. One of the ways they are thinking of is to bring forward DVD releases, in some regions to before that of the theatrical release.
“Right now theatrical is the main way we set values in these movies, and video is the first aftermarket,” Mr Meyer [Barry Meyer, chairman and chief executive of Warner Bros Entertainment.] said during a discussion held as part of the Milken Institute Global Conference on Wednesday.
“It might well be in certain territories it should be exactly the reverse – that theatrical is the added value.”…
…His sentiments were endorsed by Michael Lynton, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Peter Chernin, chairman and CEO of the Fox Group.
Mr Lynton said many would-be filmgoers preferred to wait for titles to be released on DVD instead of spending more money to see them in cinemas.
“Where piracy tends to thrive is where the consumer perceives that goods and services are not convenient and price is out of whack,” added Mr Chernin.
Wow, both these points of view are wildly refreshing, however I am concerned that they are only referring to markets like Asia and Russia, where you can often witness hand held recorded versions of the movie on sale while the film has just been released in the cinema.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, box office revenue in the US hit a record $9.5bn (£4.9bn) last year.
However, that figure was dwarfed by the estimated $24.5 billion (£12.7bn) in DVD and video rental and retail sales.
Phenomenal figures, but are they enough to sway the Studios? Perhaps in the markets that are really hit by this type of piracy, but will that ever extend further to the west, I seriously doubt it.
I go to the cinemas rather regularly (thanks to my UGC Unlimited Card), more like every week, and twice a month if there are no good releases like this month its a bit slow. I still buy DVD’s (I must have over 200 titles now) but only on a big sale, if I need to get the DVD’s for full price its only for titles I really love, like I bought the “Star Wars” & “The Godafther trilogy “Seinfeld” boxsets the first day it was released.
I never buy pirated films, first of all its not good quality, I think not good either for your player and for a fiver that they sell it for, you can easily get a DVD on sale for that.
Ey Rich I have a question, do I still need to pay a tv license even if I am just using the telly to watch DVD’s and not watch any of the programs?
Yeah logboy, it’s one of those stories that I had flagged on bloglines for ages thinking I’d write about it but knowing that my three or four last posts about DVD have gone relatively unnoticed. Finally decided last night, yet it’s one of those stories that is on the sidelines but if you look into it it’s hinting at loads.
It really looks like the Studios are considering their position on piracy on a more intelligent level, and not only that, the consideration of a move towards the home market in some market areas, which usually implies a test of a model for the rest of the marketplace.
As for me, I prefer to rent DVD’s and watch them at home. I still go to the cinema, but it’s a big name experience now. √Ǭ£13.95 a month and I get three DVD’s at home at any one time, and I choose from a huge list. My system is superb and I can choose the time, the audience and the food. Perfect.
i read the bbc thing last week, did a similar post at twitchfilm.com… no reaction to it though. odd – i think its a major issue in so many ways…
I definitely see that happening – most people I know haven’t been to a movie theater in months because they just wait until they can rent movies at Blockbuster or see them on TV. Something needs to be done about this, because it now almost costs the same amount to buy a movie online as it does to go see it in theaters. That doesn’t make sense!