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UPDATE, 1:45 PM: Redbox just issued this statement about the alleged deal. “The current agreement Coinstar has with Warner Bros. is to receive movie titles 28-days after their release. No revised agreements are in place.”
PREVIOUS, 12:03 PM: Warner Bros has sealed a deal with Netflix, Redbox and Blockbuster that will expand the studio’s release window for new DVDs to 56 days, the tech blog AllThingsD is reporting. The current window is 28 days between when the discs first go on sale and when customers can rent from the retailers. Warner Bros is saying it isn’t going to comment on speculation, but it has been exploring seeking wider window in an effort to offset declining DVD sales, and it is pushing the nascent UltraViolet format that allows users to rent or buy movies that can be viewed on multiple platforms. (The company said during the Citibank conference yesterday that UltraViolet, which is available via the company’s recently acquired Flixster site, is still in the growing stages. “The product is not where we want it to be, but someone has to take a leadership position,” CFO John Martin says.) The latest report says the deal for the new window is expected to be unveiled during the Consumer Electronics Show, which begins Monday in Las Vegas. The question that remains, though, is what’s stopping retailers from buying discs on the open market and making them available day-and-date, which has been a common practice in the past? Stay tuned.
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All this means is that I am less likely to see a Warner Bros. film. The longer after its Theatrical and then Initial Home Video date they wait to make the title available, the more separated I am from any hype or buzz around the film (seeing as they do basically no advertising for the “rental” release date). Therefore, I’ll basically start forgetting I ever wanted to see the film.
Studios need to realize that holding back the rental timing doesn’t encourage people to buy the film. The days of “blind buying” DVD’s is over.
Furthermore, should I eventually rent it and like it enough to want to own, I’d end up buying at a store at the catalog price (usually $9.99 or less), not the new release price (usually $14.99 or so) since it would have already been available for nearly 2 months.
I completely agree. The only thing that will convince me to buy a DVD is a high quality movie and a buttload of extras. The release window has absolutely nothing to do with it.
And oh yeah, nice to know Netflix rolled over on their promise to buy DVD’s elsewhere to serve their customers. How much better a deal could Warner be offering to sell DVD’s at than another distributor willing to sell on day 1 (or day 2 or 3 or whatever it would be). Heck, they could go to WalMart and buy DVD for not more than $15 day 1 retail. If Warner is offering to sell for $10, are the $5 (maximum) at a cost of 56 days worth it?
My guess is Warner threatened to pull every last piece of content they license Netflix to stream if they didn’t honor the 56 day window.
So… the DVD is on market (and therefore a high-quality rip is online) for 56 days before consumers can legally rent it? Thanks for extending the piracy window…
If I don’t buy a BluRay or DVD in the first week of release (usually a pre-order for the ones that I really want), chances are I won’t buy them until Black Friday deals week on Amazon.
I agree with No One of Consequence above. If there’s something I want to rent, right now, it will be saved to my Netflix queue and with a list of nearly 300 movies, I’ll see it when I see it.
I don’t know how most people are, but I rarely purchase DVDs and keeping that window for sales longer will annoy me more than make me want to purchase DVDs.
sorry. the DVD gravt train is over. try all you like with gimmicks like this. fact is people are not buying DVD/BD anymore. I’ll take my digital download/rentals thanks. And Ultraviolet? Um no thanks. I’d rather have my movies on my mobile devices, not your crappy cloud-streaming offering.
Presumably Netflix is agreeing – implicitly or explictly – not to buy discs on the open market per this deal. They are all about cost management on the DVD-by-mail business and this deal no doubt helps on that front or they wouldn’t have agreed to it.
What No One said, but what’s in this for Netflix and the rest of the First Salers? Must be discounts on bulk purchases of DVD’s for rental. Movies are in a worse position than CD’s in that no one wants to see a movie several times in less than a few years, unlike listening to music. And as the pipelines get faster, “sharing” movies gets almost as easy as “sharing” CD’s.
Eventually we’re going to see it argued that “the window” needs to be after the premiere of the movie on cable tv; it will be argued that it’s unfair to damage the cable network’s ad revenue.
Clueless…if I want to buy a movie, I have to see it first. If I didn’t see it in the theater, I’m not going to buy it if it’s not available to rent. I went to RENT it first. These windows will NOT give you more sales.
Greed greed greed. It never ever was about saving people money with Redbox. Despite the fact that there is little labor or overhead with the DVD kiosks, the greedy studios STILL want people to pay the full rental price for discs. Sorry, the $1 price is awesome. I rent a lot of movies that I would never consider getting at $3 or $4. If they start trying to discourage people from renting at Redbox and Netflix, I will simply use them much less or not rent as much. That dumb movie that no one rents? Not touching it, ever. You may get me for Cowboys and Aliens, something I wouldn’t see in theaters but would see on disc, but not for anything else.
How about not paying $100-300 million on movies and then taking a bath when they fail completely?
Told ya’. I’ve been griping about Streamflix’s 1-month wait since it started in January 2010. I was (seemingly) in the minority, most renters had the attitude, “If you can’t wait 1 month…why didn’t you see it in theaters?” -or- “If you can’t wait one month, get a life.” etc… It was wrong, but not many people were bothered by it.
My main argument was that, okay, most renters seemed okay with it…but what happens (or would happen) when they increased the wait from 1 month to 2 months (or 3 months). When do you get pissed that the system is being gamed against you? LMAO at those who only now are outraged.
WB is the worst studio for this stuff. They’e incredibly shortsighted. They’re doing exactly what they music co’s did. They’re losing business, so their solution is to limit access to their product. Brilliant. That’ll work out real well for you guys. They only thing that’ll increase (more than marginally) is piracy. I don’t blame people for stealing content when they do this crap.
Newsflash…when times are tight, people aren’t going to spend much $$ on DVD’s/Blu-ray’s. There just isn’t enough disposable income there. Combine that with there being so many options competing for your entertainment dollar (many more than there were when DVD purchasing was big 5-7 years ago), lack of quality movies being made, people not wanting to have 10,000 movie collections…it’s just not happening. Hardcore Blu fans/movie fans like those of us on Blu-ray.com are the exception, but there aren’t that many of us.
Dear Hollywood: NEWSFLASH! 99% of movies aren’t worth buying! That’s why people subscribe to Netflix so, in between discovering the few gems, they’re only paying 50 cents for the avalanche of turds. All extending the rental window does is make people forget that a particular movie exists so, if it’s Warner Brothers’ desire to bankrupt their company, then I guess it’ll be mission accomplished.
The problem is the movie studios think they can keep piling on more ways to buy their movies without cannibalization. It can’t happen. People don’t Want to pay over and over for the same content. With vod and streaming services disc sales are going to wither.
The tv and movie business are both bad at getting their products to people who will pay or support advertising. They sabotage and contradict themselves all the time.
Another enormous step in the wrong direction. This will do very little to help Warner’s DVD sales, but it will do wonders for the pirates.
Well, I can only speak for myself. The wonder years of buying DVD’s for me was over identical to curve this past decade. I got the ones I wanted (many catalog) and the kids are now adults and the spree is over. There are some movies I will buy in the future that to me I enjoy watching 2 or 3 times a year, Sherlock Homes 2 is one and next year the Hobbit part 1, but thats all (maybe Batman 3, but that’s only if it is good and rewatchable as Batman 2). Those movies will be on Bluray because that’s the only way I want to see them. Ultraviolet, it’s OK and will be a novelty but I’am buying Bluray to rewatch them on my 60 inch TV not my iphone or Kindle Fire.
Like everyone else I rent, by one source or another, most movies. A month or 2 month or even 3 month window will not change my viewing habits, the first viewing experience will be the same be it July or September, I can wait (if I remember).
I just might buy more Bluray titles if the price would be closer to or lower than DVDs. $27-$25 dollars is not and impulse buy.
Ultraviolet sucks! Give us our REAL digital copies back!
I buy a lot of DVD’s – the window length doesn’t matter to me. The Blu-Rays are too expensive and most movies don’t warrant the extra $. I watch movies on my big screen – recreating as closely as possible a theatre experience. I don’t see that changing for me anytime soon (if ever).