28-Day Delays Won't Heal Home Entertainment's Gaping Wound

[StvRbrsn]

The Wrap

No one denies that the 28-day delays in releasing films to Netflix and Redbox are having some impact.

Studio officials who spoke to TheWrap said that deals preventing Netflix and Redbox from renting movies until a month after they hit store shelves have bolstered sales by as much as 15 percent on some titles.

What's more, they hope to extend the window to as many as 45 days.

“We’d love to push the windows back and give our sell-through more time to breath, but it’s a matter of time because there are already arrangements in place. This is a unique and new business model,” a senior home-entertainment executive told TheWrap.

 

[StvRbrsn]

Nice, still wont make me buy. I will be sucked into 3D purchases.

 

[teachsac]

Only thing I buy anymore is absolute must haves, which has been very little lately.

S~

 

[SatinKzo]

push it back 100 days or a whole year, it won't bother me. The push back so far has actually made the re-sale value on many titles drop since people are buying a few more movies and then selling faster cause they don't like them, not to mention the rather quick retail drops I've seen. I've scored some titles for $5-$7 each from a couple other forums trading areas that have not cleared the 28 day rental window yet. Then I turn around and sell them again or trade them in at local stores many times for more than I paid.

 

[StvRbrsn]

Once you adjust to being behind, it really makes no difference.

 

[harshness]

I can't remember the last time I thought a movie was a must see. Outside of the second hand market, the studios have to be liking the idea of direct sales versus rentals.

 

[Tampa8]

Virtually nothing the Movie industry has done ended up helping them, and in fact could have hurt them. All the way back to video tapes which they opposed vehemently. When those sales took off, guess what also took off? Movie goers.

This is no different. I get there should be a buffer between a release date and being to stream the movie. But the longer you make it, the more people will lose their enthusiasm for that new movie as a must. If they think any real number of people will now go out and buy the movie at $29 or higher instead of waiting to buy at $12 or to stream it, they haven't learned a thing. Keep in mind, the very thing they are trying to protect, the release of a movie on blue-ray to watch at home, they were totally against at one time when it was video tape. They have yet learned to embrace all the technologies as a way to promote movies overall.

 

[StvRbrsn]

If they will get on the 3D blu-ray releases, they will get me buying more.