James Delahunty
21 Apr 2005 12:53
Hollywood studios are debating about whether or not to bring DVD release dates of movies forward to combat growing piracy around the world. In fact some do predict that the day may not be far off when some major films are available on DVD at the same time as their theatrical release. "Your premiere may be at Wal-Mart," said Barry Meyer, chairman and chief executive of Warner Bros Entertainment. It's all about business, and he points out that in some territories movies make more money on DVD than they do in theatres.
"Right now theatrical is the main way we set values in these movies, and video is the first aftermarket," Mr Meyer 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." He went on to explain how pirated copies of the latest Harry Potter movie were being sold literally outside a multiplex in Shanghai on the same day the film opened there.
"The day you have a public performance of a movie anywhere in the world, you can count on the fact there will be a physical product on the streets of Asia, Eastern Europe (and) Russia within a few days," he said. Michael Lynton, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment agrees with Meyer's view saying that many film-goers prefer to wait for a DVD release of a movie than to spend money to watch it once in a theatre. "Where piracy tends to thrive is where the consumer perceives that goods and services are not convenient and price is out of whack," added Peter Chernin, chairman and CEO of the Fox Group.
The question that is left to everyone now though is whether Hollywood studios are doing this to boost revenue by catching the movie anticipation and combining it with a DVD release date. For example, when you see trailers on TV for movies that are coming to theatres, if you like them, you often remember the release date and go out of your way to go to the theatre to see it. Now imagine if the DVD is in stores to buy before it’s available in theatres, could you wait to see it in a theatre or would you be tempted to spend money on the DVD?
Also you have to remember that DVD-R copies of movies often appear on the Internet months before the DVD retail date. That is because the DVDs have to be distributed in large amounts around the world so somewhere along the line somebody manages to get a copy of it. Eventually the movie ends up on the Internet for download. Copies of movies in theatres however usually appear after the movie opens but the quality varies. Hollywood might just be supplying the pirates with DVD quality copies even earlier than ever if they take this approach, and may do much more damage to their revenue.
Source:
BBC News