Rich Fiscus
26 Sep 2011 17:15
Warner Home Video may be expanding their delayed release window to include brick and mortar rental outlets.
In 2009 Warner, along with the other major studios, implemented a policy of delaying the availability of new releases to kiosks by 28 days. This was intended to improve disc sales.
The delayed release window also includes online rental services like Netflix.
A distributor has told Home Media Magazine that the delayed release window will be extended to include all rental operations starting in November. He said, "Some of the Warner reps have called our key customers to let them know about this upcoming change."
The problem with this move is it ignores the obvious. The DVD boom of a few years ago wasn't sustainable because it was never just about new releases.
It was a perfect storm of replacing decades old technology, the availability of more titles at better prices than ever before, and even multiple releases of many titles.
Studios expected the same behavior with Blu-ray, but it never materialized for a number of reasons.
DVD was revolutionary. The vast majority of people considered it a quantum leap in quality compared to VHS.
Blu-ray was evolutionary. Most people didn't have any interest in replacing their DVD collections, especially so soon after building them in the first place.
DVD players couldn't play video tapes. Blu-ray players can not only play DVDs, they make them look better than nearly any DVD player.
Given the rising popularity of online video, increased competition from mobile devices and entertainment, and a generally poor economy conditions, there's no reason to believe delayed releases will sell more discs.