p2pnet - rss feed: Studios and Consumer Power
p2pnet.net News:- An acknowledgement that the days when the entertainment cartels could crack the whip and ‘consumers’ would instantly obey [read ‘buy’] has come from Robert Iger, ceo-elect of The Walt Disney Co.
"Consumers have a lot more authority these days and they know that by using technology [read p2p applications] they can gain access to content and they want to use the power that they have," he’s quoted as saying by the Associated Press. "We can’t stand in the way and we can’t allow tradition to stand in the way of where the consumer can go or wants to go [read ‘We’d better shape up, or ship out.’]," he said this month.
“Iger’s remarks are heresy to theater owners who fear people with flat screen, high-definition, surround sound systems in their living rooms will abandon the megaplex.”
They may also be a sign of growing dissention in the ranks of the major movie studios whose MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) has been using its immense clout to close down p2p sites featuring, principally, BitTorrent, and to sue people it accuses of ruining its business by sharing files via the p2p networks.
"Mr. Iger knows better than to tell consumers - or Wall Street analysts - that they can have it all, everywhere, at the same time," AP has John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theater Owners, saying. "He knows there would be no viable movie theater industry in that new world - at least not a theater industry devoted to the entertainment products of Hollywood."
The story goes on that theaters have already seen profits shrink as movies move more quickly to home video.
“Studios and theaters split profits in the early weeks of a movie’s run, with the theater making most of its money from concessions,” says AP. “The theater’s split gets larger the longer the movie plays, giving studios an incentive to release films on DVD even earlier.” That has, “led some to question business models that have not kept pace with technology or consumer demands”.
Before Iger’s remarks, studio executives spoke of releasing DVDs simultaneous with a theatrical run only in the context of fighting piracy, states the story.
“Many studios are already premiering films around the world on the same date to undercut pirates who distribute illegal copies of films in China, Eastern Europe and elsewhere. In the United States, studios are pressured by a box office slump and a DVD glut that has led to a sharp decline in sales for new releases that compete for shelf space with old TV show box sets and older hits.”
Cable operators promote video-on-demand, phone companies are creating high-speed online networks to make on-demand viewing even easier and, “Advances in wireless are also challenging old business models. In Europe, Sony Pictures has released a full-length version of ‘Spider-Man II’ for viewing on a cell phone.”
2929 Entertainment, owned by Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner, plans to use p2p as a distribution vehicle in a joint venture with director Steven Soderbergh.
They plan to make digital movies for simultaneous release on tv, in cinemas and on DVD. But the files will also be available online, Cuban told p2pnet.
“We’ll deliver most likely from sites like Movielink and CinemaNow, and we’ll charge a price that’s more expensive on release date and then come down in price in what would be normal release windows,” he told us.
Wagner and Cuban own the Dallas Mavericks, “which still draws a crowd when games are broadcast on radio and TV" but, "It didn’t kill professional sports when it was available simultaneously on different mediums," adds Wagner in the AP post. "They cross promote each other and they’re all doing just fine."
If there’s something you think we should know, contact us - tips[at]p2pnet.net
See:-
Associated Press - Studios Mull Changes to Movie ‘Windows’, August 28, 2005
available online - Cuban / Soderbergh p2p move, May 1, 2005
August 29th, 2005 at 7:58 pm
Nice to see someone with a brain in power. Let’s sit back and see how long it takes for those around him to corrupt him =/.
August 29th, 2005 at 11:10 pm
“Nice to see someone with a brain in power. Let’s sit back and see how long it takes for those around him to corrupt him =/.”
You’ve got to be kidding… From what I hear Iger is nothing more than Eisner’s lackey. I don’t expect to see any significant changes in the running of Disney. I’m sure he’ll continue Eisner’s tradition of firing writers and replacing them with “creative executives” in order to turn out the same sub-par hollywood crap the company has become known for in recent years.
Disney needs another Walt, and Iger’s not it. Even though Roy Disney is returning I doubt he’ll have any significant say in operations and become nothing more than a figurehead to appease the share holders.
Walt Disney was always innovating and pushing the envelope. If he were around, we would be seeing a lot of digital pioneering from Disney.