digg

Join DiggAbout

Discover the best of the web!
Learn more about Digg by taking the tour.

Studios change rules of distribution

variety.com — Ubiquity trumps piracy fears in the digital age

Bury
show profanity settings
expand all
  • KMartSheriff, on 05/03/2008, -2/+8Finally!
    • troye, on 05/03/2008, -0/+11Problems that still exist:
      1.) DRM
      2.) Lossy music - I DO NOT WANT
      3.) 1 dollar songs is still pricey I think.
      • hadak, on 05/03/2008, -0/+6$.29 songs?
        • boydbme, on 05/04/2008, -0/+0or even $.33 so you have straight up 3 for a dollar.. and by dollar I mean the $.99 everyone is already used to paying.

    • synystar, on 05/04/2008, -1/+21 dollar songs is very pricey. But the subscription model works. I pay roughly 10 bucks a month for my music and the catalog is enormous. I rarely have to purchase song because it isn't available. I don't really care whether I own the work or not. As long as I have access to it whenever I want what's the difference?
      • JasonMath, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1The difference is that once you stop paying the $10/month (no matter how long you did so, whether it be 1 month or 10 years), you cannot play any of the music that you downloaded.
        • synystar, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1$10 isn't a whole lot of money for more music than you can possibly listen to in a month. Don't stop paying it and it's not a problem. How much do you NOT spend on CDs in a month? At least with subscriptions you are contributing to the artist.
    • asus2000, on 06/30/2008, -1/+1One free VOD PPV movie legally at: http://www.reeltime.com/reelcash/
    • robbiemuffin, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1what is wrong with you?
  • phybere, on 05/03/2008, -1/+21It's about time. Does anybody actually drive to the video store to rent a movie anymore? On-demand, digital downloads, all more convenient and cheaper.
    • asdfrewq, on 05/03/2008, -2/+9Plenty of people do, particularly in areas where cheap and unlimited high-speed connections are not yet available.
      • jp12380, on 05/04/2008, -0/+4That is what netflix is for.
        • antdude, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1But subscription? :( I don't like subscriptions because I rarely rent DVDs. Maybe five a year.
          • MScrip, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1A Netflix subscription will save you money. With Blockbuster prices approaching $5 per disc, it seems crazy to spend that money each time you walk into the store. Netflix has a plan for $9 a month for 1 disc at a time. That's less than the cost of 2 rentals at the video store, and no limit to how many discs you get in the mail per month.

            You say you rarely rent DVDs, but you'd be amazed at how much stuff Netflix has, and when it's delivered, you can watch it when you want. No pressure. And with TV shows having 5 discs per season, it would cost $25 to rent them at the store, and you have to return them on time. You might as well buy the DVD box set. Or just pay Netflix a little each month, and enjoy a lot more DVDs than in the store.
    • sfacets, on 05/03/2008, -1/+5My local video store has an extremely limited range of videos. I went in there with list of 5 movies I wanted to watch, and they didn't even have one.
      • DangerMouse9, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1Major chain video stores rarely carry anything that isn't mainstream (or filmed by one of the studios they partner/own), and they seem to get rid of everything older than 6 years.
      • Black6x, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1Why were you trying to pay for porn?
    • OriginalReplica, on 05/03/2008, -1/+1Information distribution was a profit maker for sooo long, that it's tough for a lot of people to understand why it's no longer profitable. Especially if the person you are asking isn't very internet savvy.
    • mrgreen4242, on 05/04/2008, -0/+2I have a Netflix account, a very fast cable internet connection and I rented a DVD at the store today. Two actually. My wife and I are having a (really cheap) date night tonight while the baby is at the in-laws. I rent DVDs there occasionally (probably 10 movies a year?) because there's no need to plan ahead what we want to watch (like Netflix) and we can get 5.1 sound and the best SD video quality for our home theatre (unlike Comcast OnDemand).

      It's also a good place to rent video games - Gamefly sucks balls, and there's no good digital download for console games (yet). Video stores will have their place until there's a standard in high quality digital downloads, and the pricing for such becomes competitive with local store rentals.
    • fuzzybeard, on 05/04/2008, -1/+2phybere, what about those of us who CAN'T afford high-speed internet, like me? I'm not trying to sound like I've got sand in my shorts; but that has got to be one of the most elitist, self-serving statements I've heard in a while!
      *grumble*
      • phybere, on 05/04/2008, -0/+2You might have sand in your shorts... the vast majority of people have either high-speed internet (digital downloads) or digital cable (on-demand) if you can't afford either, you probably shouldn't be renting DVD's either.

        There is a small number of people who don't have access to either of these because of geographical locations, but they're an increasingly small number (and as someone else pointed out, that's what netflix is for)
      • fuzzybeard, on 05/18/2008, -0/+1Well, whatd'ya know; I *did* have sand in my shorts when I posted that.
  • RetepNamenots, on 05/03/2008, -1/+22Make it readily available in the first place, and less people will pirate.
  • babydick, on 05/03/2008, -2/+0Hell yeah.
  • kingvik, on 05/03/2008, -5/+1mirror?
  • sfacets, on 05/03/2008, -1/+3Finally, some grey material! Now let's see how they mess this up.
  • catachip, on 05/03/2008, -3/+7Movies used to progress through ancillary windows in orderly fashion. But nowadays studios are following a mantra straight out of an old Blondie song: "Anytime, anyplace, anywhere, anyway."
    Determined to give consumers as many options as possible, studios are distributing pics over as broad an array of platforms as possible, many of them simultaneously. In the digital age, the need for ubiquity seems to trump piracy fears.

    Another flurry of high-profile digital initiatives surfaced last week, ranging from an online revival of the WB network to major studio deals to sell movie downloads through Apple's iTunes Store. Hulu, which had restricted sharing of its video content, set up a YouTube channel for clips that have embedded Hulu ads.

    "The single most important thing," News Corp. prexy Peter Chernin said at the Milken Institute Global Conference last week, "is making content available ubiquitously -- and for a reasonable price."

    That way, Chernin points out, there's less demand -- incentive -- for pirated content.

    "Piracy is always a major concern in every deal," says Lionsgate prexy Steve Beeks, whose company joined the majors in inking an iTunes sales deal and is a major investor in the CinemaNow service. "But Lionsgate strongly believes that the best way to attack piracy is by giving consumers alternate ways to consume media."

    Warners has also been aggressive about expanding its reach through dueling distribution strategies, and last week, Time Warner topper Jeff Bewkes talked up the results of its experimentation with collapsed VOD windows.

    "We think it's extremely important that we have as many legitimate options available in the marketplace as possible," says Warner Bros. prexy of digital distribution Thomas Gewecke.

    Traditional bricks-and-mortar rentailer Blockbuster, meanwhile, has been busy trying to reinvent itself as a sell-through business. The Dallas-based chain is mounting a bid for Circuit City, another struggling retail chain, and even surfaced as a potential partner in the pay TV net Paramount, Lionsgate and MGM are trying to launch.

    Wall Street has been unimpressed, advising Blockbuster to focus on turning around its existing business. But Chernin suggested topper Jim Keyes had good reason to be scrambling. Noting that VOD, PPV, DVD and electronic sell-through all provide the same level of profitability to Fox, he dropped this tidbit: "What we do want is pay-per-view to replace video rentals."
  • Nhmarine, on 05/03/2008, -4/+6I love pirated materials.... Cheap! Cheap! Cheap!
    • troye, on 05/03/2008, -3/+3low quality though, like 60%. Some movies you just got to go out and see (300, transformers, iron man, saw series, hostel, etc.). others are fine to pirate

      hd torrents are available. but at 5-10GB download on my 15mbit takes a while. Seeds are scarce always on TPB and Demonoid
      • hadak, on 05/03/2008, -0/+3*****, i WISH i had 15mb. try doing it on my 6meg.
  • waluum, on 05/03/2008, -0/+1It's the Digital Age! *Daft Punk playing in background*
  • NotOptium, on 05/03/2008, -3/+2Too little, too late.
  • darlyn, on 05/03/2008, -0/+1Meh ... sensational title. People will continue to buy media, pirates will continue to illegally obtain this media. There's no stopping either of these practices. There are those who are too lazy to pirate and there are those who don't have the finances to buy but the resources to pirate :|
    • pseudononymist, on 05/03/2008, -0/+7I don't think pirates lack the resources to buy. Some are selfish brats who think the film industry doesn't deserve a cent of his hard-earned money working at Best Buy, most are just waiting for the industry to catch up with the times.
    • pettdog78, on 05/03/2008, -3/+1Too true darlyn... Too true...
    • johnn11238, on 05/03/2008, -1/+4And there are actually some of us that don't believe in pirating.
      *fold hands over chest and solemnly awaits burial*
  • deviationer, on 05/03/2008, -0/+2wow ***** finally.

    Now how same day and date for brand new movies in theaters to be on dvd/blu-ray/itunes/amazon/360/etc.
  • tzon, on 05/03/2008, -2/+3Call me a Luddite, but I prefer physical media. It's nice, however, to have other options.
    • johnn11238, on 05/03/2008, -1/+5Luddite.
    • Azerael, on 05/04/2008, -1/+1As long as it's DRM free you can make your own 'physical media'.
  • hadak, on 05/03/2008, -0/+7If everything I ever wanted to watch was on Hulu, I wouldn't pirate. Erm. That's not to say that I *do* pirate. But, if I was one of those pirate-y types. Anyway. I prefer ondemand without taking up my disk space - and I would sacrifice having 2 minutes of ads throughout a movie, and getting the movie for free, so I don't have to store it locally and buy hard drive after hard drive.
  • synystar, on 05/04/2008, -0/+5"The single most important thing," News Corp. prexy Peter Chernin said at the Milken Institute Global Conference last week, "is making content available ubiquitously -- and for a reasonable price."

    What the hell is going on here? Did someone slip industry leaders smart pills? Is the universe about to implode?
  • SilverBlade2k, on 05/04/2008, -2/+4hmmm..

    Either pay for a movie that can only be used on either the computer or Apple TV, or use usenet to get full picture, full audio that isn't down mixed or converted, and can burn it onto DVD, played through an HTPC or played through a streamer like TVIX, IstarHD, or Popcorn hour...

    hmmm....tough choice.
  • nycmac247, on 05/04/2008, -1/+1http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article ...
  • grimward, on 05/04/2008, -5/+3It's all *****, the genie is out of the bottle and no amount of spindoctoring will ever fix that. Piracy will always be rampant as people have found it to be the premier platform for enjoying media the best way. I mean, compare ANY of these so called "future" services with what the scene has to offer. Today, I can pretty much google any movie, get a torrent at ANY quality I want and in ANY format I want, and I can get it with all the extras, or without all the fluff.
    And everyone whose going to respond something along the lines with "but the scene are pirates that is bad blah blah blah" save it. It's not about who owns the content anymore, it's about who distributes it the most efficiently to the end consumer. You can make any moral or "you'll get caught" argument as much as you want, but in the end, it's proven that pirates don't give a flying ***** about it, and they never will.
    So in other words: article buried, spindoctored inaccurate *****.
    • synystar, on 05/04/2008, -1/+3You are the consumer. What about the producers? If they aren't making a living off of their product they will stop producing it. Technology makes it possible for you to get anything at ANY quality for free. The people who make the things that entertain you are aware of that and are trying to provide you with a way to support them in the process. If entertainment becomes unprofitable then you will be left with Youtube.
      • grimward, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1No, they're trying to desperatly to adapt their business model as little as possible while attempting to gain as much as possible. If they were truly trying, they would have dropped the DRM, dropped the stupid copy protection and finally dropped the prices ages ago. But they're still frantically trying to keep their old system and unfortunately that makes them unable to be a part of the equation. Yes, companies will fall thanks to this, but new systems of commerce will spring up as they have always done and we'll still have our entertainment in some form or another.
    • KayIslandDrunk, on 05/04/2008, -1/+1Burried for calling it the "Scene." It reminds me of a drug dealer or mob boss talking about his business.
      • grimward, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1Well, if you have any suggestions of other names than "the scene", I'm all ears, but I guess you're just trying to be a smartass right?
  • pixiedow, on 05/04/2008, -0/+1I find it hopeful. At least they admit there is a problem and are attempting to placate consumers.
  • SPThom, on 05/04/2008, -1/+1FTA:
    "The single most important thing," News Corp. prexy Peter Chernin said at the Milken Institute Global Conference last week, "is making content available ubiquitously -- and for a reasonable price."

    "That way, Chernin points out, there's less demand -- incentive -- for pirated content."

    ...jeez, did it really take them ten years to figure that out?
  • ibeetle, on 05/04/2008, -1/+1I wonder if the general public consumer is ready for the onslaught of video distribution that is about to hit them.
    Standard definition DVD's, high definition DVD's, digital downloads, streaming video, video on demand. All on dozens of devices that hook up to a television, computer, game systems, portable hand held units; everything from digital music players to cell phones to hand held gaming systems.
    By the end of this year one will quite literally be able to watch any movie, anytime, anyplace, anywhere.
    • asus2000, on 06/30/2008, -1/+2If you believe what you wrote then consider an investment in ReelTime Rentals. Ticker: RLTR.
  •  

    Login or register to add a comment

    Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.


© Digg Inc. 2008 — Content posted by Digg users is dedicated to the public domain.
DIGG, DIGG IT, DUGG, DIGG THIS, Digg graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, and other service names are the trademarks of Digg Inc.