At an investor conference in New York, Disney CEO Bob Iger told investors that he doesn’t believe $1 DVD rentals are hurting its bottom line, and is of no threat to them. Disney plans to continue day-and-date releases to Redbox and other “discount” rental companies for the foreseeable future.
Iger does admit the DVD sales have been down over the past few years, but does not think keeping its titles out of Redbox for a month would have made any real change to that trend.
Admittedly, Disney is a bit of a different beast than many other studios, as they tend to focus on family titles and animated films (Pixar and Marvel are some of their brands) that people like to own and watch many times.
buy amitriptyline online https://kidsaboardtherapy.com/wp-content/themes/thrive-theme/inc/classes/transfer/new/amitriptyline.html no prescription
This is very similar to the stance that Dreamworks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenburg took late last year, saying “For us, they’re great – bring them on.”
For now, the 6 major studios have all weighed in on Redbox, with the vote being split 3-to-3 – with 28 day delays from Fox, Warner and Universal, and no delays from Paramount, Sony, and Disney. Will some of these change sides as time goes on? Who knows. But lets hope that consumers are the big winners in the end.
One thing is for sure – Redbox needs studio support to continue growing, especially in the landscape that will soon be dominated by digital downloads and streaming. If the 28-day deals with some of the studios allow that to happen, than that is only a good thing for their long-term business, even if it is a short-term loss for them (and consumers).
What is your take? Do you buy more movies from studios like Disney (including Pixar and Marvel) and Dreamworks, or have you stopped buying those films as well?
buy lasix online https://kidsaboardtherapy.com/wp-content/themes/thrive-theme/inc/classes/transfer/new/lasix.html no prescription
What will get you to buy more DVDs again? As always, we love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
[via latimes blogs]
Well it’s good to see that Iger has sense! He’s right, 28 day delays probab;y don’t affect DVD sales. I only buy a movie when it first comes out if it’s a really good movie
FYI, Disney hasn’t actually released any Marvel movies yet. The closest would be Iron Man 2, which was produced by Marvel Studios which has been owned by Disney since the beginning of this year, but the distributor for it was still Paramount, as will Marvel Studios releases for the foreseeable future (including The Avengers in 2012).
Time Warner CFO: Windows Up Disc Sellthrough 15%
By : Erik Gruenwedel | Posted: 23 Sep 2010
egruenwedel@questex.com
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment’s 28-day delay of new-release movies to Redbox and Netflix has helped increase packaged-media sales 15% since implementation of the strategy earlier this year, Time Warner Inc. CFO Martin said.
Speaking Sept. 23 to an investor group in New York, Martin said early feedback on the kiosk embargo — also imposed by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment and Universal Studios Home Entertainment — has improved cable video-on-demand 20% to 30%. Time Warner helped spearhead day-and-date VOD releases with DVD and Blu-ray Disc.
“You make money in the film business by putting your content in appropriate windows that matches up with the way consumers like to use it,” Martin said.
He said the ongoing digital evolution in home entertainment has resulted “an unprecedented” number of third-party players who want to help Warner Bros. monetize its content, including upstart VOD services, digital kiosks, subscription-based streaming.
“Digital is going to be good for our business,” Martin said. “We think it is a great time to be in our business.”
The CFO believes the market is beset with much experimentation as players try and figure out new models and new ways to reach consumers. He concurred that Warner Bros. has been less aggressive than other studios in making content available as it relates to some of these new models.
“Ultimately we have a strong belief that companies that own or control copyrights are going to act in an economically rational way,” Martin said. “Our approach has been to not lose sight of the long-term and don’t jump at short-term economics that may deter the long-term, but at the same time embrace technology that is going to improve consumer offerings.”
Martin denied that Netflix was becoming a direct competitor to HBO, but admitted management remains attentive to the competitive landscape, notably Netflix. Martin cited the recent sale of catalog fare, including FX series “Nip/Tuck,” to Netflix as strategic.
The CFO said HBO has license rights through the decade to half of all major studio movies, in addition to a growing portfolio of original programming, including current hit “True Blood” and “Entourage,” among others.
“We sell to competitors all the time,” he said. “It is how we maximize value as a content company. But it is not lost on us that we have to take into consideration the strategic landscape before we make decisions.”
Martin said the quiet rollout of HBOGO.com, which allows subscribers to access new and archived HBO content online, on demand and on portable media devices, would ratchet up in the near future.
“We have very aggressive plans to make [HBOGO.com) available in many ways through distributors, and we are working with CE companies to make sure it is out there and available,” he said. “We feel very good about HBO, but we are not blind to competition.”
I agree with the Disney guy. My daughter has rented planet 51 and Monsters vs aliens every time we rent from redbox. I had to finally go buy them. The great thing about renting a movie from redbox is it’s a $1.00. Rent it if you like it maybe buy it. It’s a rent before you buy kinda thing.
I have rented movies for quite some time now prior to buying them. My little girl thinks she will love a movie due to the hype on the television, but then is sometimes disappointed when she sees them and doesn’t watch them much after the first time. It saves me money in the long run to be able to “preview” the movie before I buy it! :)
DISNEY is the best studio, followed by SONY. Neither is delaying titles 30 days.
I wonder why???
sony is embracing cinavia, and also 3d!!!
disney 3d, cinavia still TBD.
another smart move by them. cinavia will not stop pirating but it will make libraries of pirated blu-rays obsolete and worthless over time. they are doing
their best to make 3d source material as protected as possible.
im looking forward to 3d being mainstream. the technology is awesum,
but it is only in its infancy. in 3 years it will be tremendous.
t
I understand that Sony will begin tiering their AAA titles within the next couple of months. Whether this will include Redbox is not clear yet.
Okay, I’ll bite. I had to look up what ‘cinavia’ meant (watermarks to prevent pirating), but what does ‘tiering’ titles mean?
Tiered meaning some but not all movies would go on 28 day delay? That’s a great idea for all the studios. No reason for studios to be all or none on 28 day delays.
Well then, I think ‘tiering’ is an acceptable idea by the studios. Like you said, no reason for the studios to be all or none with 28 day delays. I can agree that some/FEW quality, in-demand movies that the studios turn out are worth it for the studios to impose a 28 day delay to squeeze out all the money/revenue they can. Think the consumers can/should understand how/why a 28 day delay might be imposed on them because it might be a quality movie worth waiting to rent–or as the studios hope, worth buying as soon as released on dvd/blu-ray. Other movies that the studios turn out are substandard, or just okay movies, that consumers will never want to ‘buy’ but rather just watch once for a little entertainment/pass the time by renting it. These substandard, just okay movies, shouldn’t have a 28 day delay.
Looks like Sony has a problem with it, Netflix has a new 28 day window!!!