Netflix Will Delay Renting New WB Releases 418
Posted
by
kdawson
from the times-they-are-a-changin' dept.
from the times-they-are-a-changin' dept.
DesertBlade tips the news that Netflix will delay renting new releases from Warner Brothers for 28 days, and adds "Luckily I am so far behind in my movie watching that I will probably never catch up anyway." "It's part of a strategy by several studios to create staggered releases of DVDs so that the most profitable transactions are available first and cheaper rental options take effect further down the road. The move could be copied by other studios, forcing consumers to wait nearly a month if they want to rent popular movies from Netflix. ... The studio is hoping that the four-week window will push consumers interested in watching movies at home to buy the DVDs or pay a premium to rent them from stores like Blockbuster or from Internet and cable video-on-demand services. Warner Bros. already imposes a 28-day window on $1-a-night kiosk firm Redbox."
They are betting that their customers won't care (Score:3, Interesting)
This sounds like a risky strategy. Creating more hassles and delays for your customer does not seem to be a "customer first" attitude. But I guess ultimately the market will decide if it is reasonable.
Re:28 days later (Score:3, Interesting)
We use the hell out of our Netflix subscription...6 out at a time, and sometimes even that doesn't feel like enough. It works out well though...she tends to rent interesting documentaries and sci-fi, while I tend to rent the classics she hasn't seen and horror movies she hasn't seen. We both work together on choosing anime and TV series.
Having a massive selection of b-horror movies and silent films ready and waiting is awesome.
They still don't get it (Score:3, Interesting)
Great way to "prove" piracy hurts (Score:3, Interesting)
Really.
People only buy movies they really, really like. The others, they rent them.
Delaying rent will not cause people to buy them bu to download them. Thus "proving" that piracy is really, really bad, evil and unAmerican...
It looks like they are getting smarter :-/
Awesome job! (Score:2, Interesting)
As everyone has already pointed out, making it HARDER for customers to get YOUR product is only going to DRIVE THEM to find it another way. IE BIT TORRENT or any other piracy trend.
This is quite clear, in the recent decision by the BBC to broadcast the recent Dr Who two-parter in the US the DAY AFTER it broadcast in the UK. Gee. What were my choices, bit torrent, or wait a WHOLE DAY to DVR it? I chose to DVR, cause it was EASIER and better to watch on my TV.
It's a plan (Score:3, Interesting)
It's a plan to make crappier movies and still make money from them.
Some people rent movies as they come out, before they buy them, to make sure that what they buy is good movies.
By delaying renting for a month (of February in a non-leap year), the studios are making the more impatient and impulse-buying people buy hyped movies, and you can't back out on that, unless of course you outsmart these guys and wait the month before renting the movie, deciding that it's crap and not buying it.
Companies prey on impulse buyers. Patience is a virtue.
Re:What a great idea! (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm not that happy with the precedent this sets, but I get many of my movies through Netflix streaming these days, which is improving all the time. There are still hundreds of great classic movies I want to see, and I'd prefer an emphasis on those (which tend to be what is showing up on Netflix streaming) rather than getting the most recent crap out of Hollywood as fast as possible.
If you really want to see the damn movie a couple weeks sooner, buy the DVD... or better yet, go to the theatre when it's playing.
There are various trade-offs here, but there are lots of customers who don't use Netflix only as a replacement for the "latest releases" section of Blockbuster.
Why this is not going to work (Score:5, Interesting)
NOTE: My wife and I have SEVEN full bookshelves of DVD & Blu-Ray. We're movie nuts. We love to watch them. We love to go back and watch ones we particularly like. If they're good, we'll buy multiple editions we want--I've bought two copies of Iron Man, two full sets of Lord of the Rings, and lord knows how many Star Wars. I'll rebuy the latter two on Blu-Ray when they come out. I like to think we're the model of good customers. I don't bit torrent films because unlike some I like the way it looks on the shelf. The same as I like the way my books look on the shelf. Screw E-readers and stacks of ripped discs.
We also consume Netflix and Comcast OnDemand ravenously, and sometimes the Amazon download rental service or the local actual DVD rental store. Why?
I don't want to buy EVERY film I see. Some I'm fine with only seeing the once. I don't know if I'll like it. We only go to 10-15 films a year maximum in theaters (probably a lot compared to most). It's one of our main hobbies. Do I buy every film I see in theater on disc? Of course not. Half of them I'll never want to see again because they're either not memorable, not important to me, or total shit. Do I buy films that I've rented? ABSOLUTELY! All of them? Absolutely not! I recently watched GI Joe on a flight. Then we downloaded it on Amazon on a lark. My wife loved it, and she hates that sort of film. Now I want to buy it on Blu-Ray--why? It's fun, and it's a fun film you can watch again and toss on with company over to show off the pretty HDTV and laugh about the heinous execution of our childhood memories of GI Joe. Most importantly, again:
It's rewatchable.
Put out consistently quality, engaging films. Aim for every film to be Oscar caliber in some way. That doesn't mean every film has to have an Avatar budget or 99% of the Royal Shakespeare Company in the speaking cast. Pay for a good script. It doesn't have to be a great film--see my GI Joe example above. It's not a great film, but visually? Amazing, and rewatchable for sheer fun with people over. Pay for a good director. Pay for good lighting, decent CGI, good cinematograpy. Make films people will ****WANT**** to see more than once. You many music CDs I've bought in my life for one track that, after I played that track several times, I never listened to that CD ever, ever again? The same thing. Your trailer may be ace--but the film shit. Don't make shit films, and I'll be more likely to buy them. I'm sure the same goes for everyone else too.
Most importantly, don't piss on your devoted customers that pay your salaries. Rentals drive sales. Quality films drive sales. Crap product to simply have a release will never drive sales.
You ever notice how each week we get 3-5 new major film releases? You ever notice how 3-4 of them are substandard to the others? I think they're put out as loss leaders. You put out shit like that, and then complain that people don't all buy your annual release catalog on DVD? What did you expect would happen?
You work at our pleasure. We don't watch your products at yours.
Re:What a great idea! (Score:2, Interesting)
If you weren't looking to buy it and are an avid Netflix user, you probably only pay attention to when Netflix tells you the movie you've saved is available and not DVD release dates (Or at least that's what I do).
Re:What a great idea! (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:What a great idea! (Score:3, Interesting)
I use netflix.
I will still use netflix.
I do not download movies or songs from torrent sites because the risk is too high.
I do download BBC material I can not watch in the states (hopefully some day they will take me up on my offer to give them money for this).
Re:What a great idea! (Score:5, Interesting)
it's not about people seeing the movie. It's about established players like Blockbuster willing to pay a larger cut to studios to rent movies first. So the studios are going after Redbox and Netflix to curb the "cheap" rentals that aren't paying kickbacks.
I've noticed at my regional chain store as well more videos are marked "rental" meaning they can't be sold as "used" later. It's a focused effort from studios across the board to create the tiered system. Why "sell" a DVD when they can get the same $15 from a download on Xbox or Apple TV. Why let Netflix or Redbox charge $1 per rental when they can get $4-$5 selling via Apple TV or On Demand Cable. They want to limit the supply, then push the "piracy" card to get the extra demands on consumer electronics.
Re:Redbox isn't doing this (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:What a great idea! (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:28 days later (Score:2, Interesting)
The studios have taken some steps towards competing: cinema releases are increasingly worldwide and DVD releases have a shorter delay. But they're not really close - it's like the big airlines trying to do the low-cost airline thing, they just don't have the mentality for it.
Big Airlines are competing on low-cost because it is incredibly difficult to differentiate a plane ride from another plane ride to consumers. When people shop on the web they go for the lowest cost the majority of the time. Try picturing yourself eating a better meal and watching a movie on a plane, would you even pay 20$ more? Most people say to the hell with it Ill save money and eat whenever I get there.
http://biz.yahoo.com/p/sum_qpmd.html
Airline industry is consistently at the bottom for profit/margin, they fail if they do not have low costs. The studios make take an idea for a film, make a bunch of products based on that film, push all this shit on everyone everywhere, and are still trying to double up by not letting you even make a damn backup in the case a spec of sand finds its way onto your disc. As a secondary side note, most companies worry about customer support when they mass distribute a product. I have never got s4n74cl4wz to respond to my requests when the the frame is clipped. Think about it, how can these be "quite basic market forces" when the "competition" is distributing your product without paying you?
Re:What a great idea! (Score:3, Interesting)
That was pretty much the first time I"d been to a movie theater to see a movie since Spiderman 1.
I just don't usually go to a theater for many of the reasons you mentione.
I also seem to have a MUCH better soundsystem than most theaters, I have good viewing equipment, can be alone or just have friends over...I have the kitchen near by, I can pause the movie whenever need be, and most importantly, I have a fully stocked BAR nearby too.
Frankly, I don't see much a reason to to out to a theater unless it is the rare movie that you really need to see larger than 100"...
Re:What a great idea! (Score:3, Interesting)
pirate the movie instead
I've found I've just lost interest. The entertainment industry with the constant barage of huge lawsuites, high prices and greed has finally gotten to me. I used to rent movies once a week or so but now it's just gotten a bad taste. I just don't really care what they do anymore. They can charge what they want, I'm on to new stuff: local theater, outdoor stuff, etc.
I stopped buying music several years ago. That had more to do with living in Germany where GEMA (the equivalent of the RIAA) gets money for every computer or blank CD I buy. I figure I'm already paying for the music, so why pay for it twice. I used to spend several hundred dollars a year on CD's. Now I spend $0. In fact, the same holds true for my girlfriend and most of my friends. I don't pirate music -- I won't give them that satisfaction -- I just listen to my old CD's or the radio or I let youtube videos run in the background.