Warner lines up with Fox, Uni on kiosk window

[comixguru]

Studios want more money. Kiosks are big news but still probably a small part of total studio revenue. Now is the time to take a stand. It looks good, either way, to stockholders. You play chicken and demand more money while Redbox hits up retailers for product. (Studios can't stop anyone from buying the product at retail.) Or, you make a deal with a big dollar value associated with it like Sony did.

Studios have much more leverage at this point. We'll see what actually happens on release days in the future.

[SRW1000]

Originally Posted by ack_bak

I can tell you this much. There are lots of people (consumers) who are going to be pissed about this. Not advocating it, but expect more torrent downloading than ever before.

Yeah, I agree with this. it won't be an instant change, but you can bet that it will slowly increase traffic to those sites. Aren't some titles already showing up there before they're officially released?

Not a good sign.

Scott

[comixguru]

Originally Posted by Taffy

I'm sure that Redbox can easily circumvent this blatant blood sucking greedy move by certain studios by simply buying DVDs through established sources such as Walmart.

It is easy to purchase the discs on release day for near wholesale pricing. It's probably a huge hassle (i.e. costly in terms of labor, wages, etc) getting this from retail to kiosk nationwide all on release day. Certainly doable, but who would want this?

[luclin999]

Originally Posted by GizmoDVD

I agree with all of this. What right does Redbox (or any other rental place) have to get the studios to sell them discs? I mean, I guess they could go buy them on release day and stick them in their boxes...but what forces them to make the studios give them product?

You are misunderstanding the crux of the issue.

It's not whether the studios can/will sell directly to Redbox, its that the studios are demanding that wholesalers (the middlemen) don't sell their product to them as well.

That is where the anti-trust aspect of the issue lies.

[Lee Stewart]

Originally Posted by comixguru

It is easy to purchase the discs on release day for near wholesale pricing. It's probably a huge hassle (i.e. costly in terms of labor, wages, etc) getting this from retail to kiosk nationwide all on release day. Certainly doable, but who would want this?

The retailer.

Redbox to Best Buy . . .

"Can you sell me 100,000 copies of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince at $15.99?"

"Sure - I can have then delivered to your distribution warehouse."

[Taffy]

Originally Posted by Lee Stewart

The retailer.

Redbox to Best Buy . . .

"Can you sell me 100,000 copies of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince at $15.99?"

"Sure - I can have then delivered to your distribution warehouse."

Yeah....I can easily see this happening. The business of business is business.

[ack_bak]

Originally Posted by Lee Stewart

The retailer.

Redbox to Best Buy . . .

"Can you sell me 100,000 copies of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince at $15.99?"

"Sure - I can have then delivered to your distribution warehouse."

I don't know.. The studios seem pretty serious about that 28 day window..

Interesting to see how this plays out. I do suspect this will go to court, unless the studios and Redbox make a profit sharing bargain.

[luclin999]

Originally Posted by ack_bak

I don't know.. The studios seem pretty serious about that 28 day window..

Interesting to see how this plays out. I do suspect this will go to court, unless the studios and Redbox make a profit sharing bargain.

More like they'll buy from Wal-Mart.

The studios wouldn't have the guts to threaten Wal-Mart by trying to tell them who to sell or not sell to.

[Kosty]

Originally Posted by ack_bak

Wow. Just wow. This could put Redbox out of business......

Netflix has got to be worried if the studios start cracking down on cheaper rentals..

And this sucks for consumers BTW. These studios are some greedy bastards....

I disagree. Redbox can do just fine with $1 non new release movies and its probably good news for the studios retailers and for Blu-ray and DVD sales.

Most consumers that browse them still will see plenty of recent movies even if they can buy them inside the store before they can rent them for a $1.

[Taffy]

Originally Posted by luclin999

More like they'll buy from Wal-Mart.

The studios wouldn't have the guts to threaten Wal-Mart by trying to tell them who to sell or not sell to.

Either one will do. Best Buy = 40% BD sales; Walmart = 40% DVD sales. Both are giants.

Earlier this year Disney, on a couple of their titles, told retailers to begin selling the BD discs a few days earlier than the DVD discs in an effort to increase BD sales. But Walmart led a revolt against this practice and decided on their own to sell the DVD on the same day because they didn't want to antagonize their DVD customers.

[Lee Stewart]

“Chuck Berger, chairman and CEO of kiosk company DVDPlay, said the studios are standing in the way of a "tsunami of technology."

“The consumer has made a very clear choice for convenience, and the ability to rent a DVD from locations they visit several times a week, for an affordable price,” he said. “All these actions by the studios seem reminiscent of their decade-long resistance to the Internet as a legitimate distribution channel.

“We and Redbox and NCR [TNR, MovieCube and Blockbuster kiosks] will adapt to this as we already have with Universal. They're not keeping titles out of the kiosks.”

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/kio...ay-delay-16735

[Flex Mentallo]

Yeah, the studios are some greedy bastards. The whole 28 day release window is straight bs. Just an attempt to get a bigger piece of the rental pie.

The studio(s) have the right to selll who they want to. As far as I'm concerned, it just means that I'll be waiting 28 days longer to decide if a movie is worth buying on blu ray if I haven't seen it before. I guess that's a good thing. Means I'll just be holding into my money 28 days longer.

Amazing how no studio gave a shit about Redbox or rental kiosks when they were located in a handful of ghetto McDonalds. Now the economy tanks and studios realize a good majority of consumers don't want to pay $10 + for Terminator Salvation in theaters so now the studios (Warner, Universal, Fox, etc.) scramble to limit the one profitable driver that has grown by leaps and bounds over the last 2 years.

[ack_bak]

Originally Posted by Kosty

I disagree. Redbox can do just fine with $1 non new release movies and its probably good news for the studios retailers and for Blu-ray and DVD sales.

Most consumers that browse them still will see plenty of recent movies even if they can buy them inside the store before they can rent them for a $1.

Redbox's bread and butter is new releases. And this true of all major rental outlets. Many people simply are not going to wait 4 weeks after release day to rent a movie. I don't see how you cannot see this as a huge blow to Redbox. You might see sales pick up a little, but I think many people will rent in a traditional B&M stores and Netflix. Downloads may also benefit.

[Flex Mentallo]

Originally Posted by ack_bak

Redbox's bread and butter is new releases. And this true of all major rental outlets. Many people simply are not going to wait 4 weeks after release day to rent a movie. I don't see how you cannot see this as a huge blow to Redbox. You might see sales pick up a little, but I think many people will rent in a traditional B&M stores and Netflix. Downloads may also benefit.

I agree with this. Warner and Fox's moves may hurt or even destroy Redbox but in no way will this help movie/DVD sales. Short term it may help. Longterm, most consumers will just rent from a blockbuster or Netflix or just simply wait for the high def/standard def premier on HBO HD and then maybe buy the movie on DVD after the new release sales prices has dropped to about $14 or less.

With all this studio posturing concerning kiosks, I may as well skip the theatrical release window and pickup a couple of bootlegs from the barbershop and then maybe, just maybe, decide to buy the film once (and in some cases if ...) a particular title hits blu ray.

[Lee Stewart]

Originally Posted by ack_bak

Redbox's bread and butter is new releases. And this true of all major rental outlets. Many people simply are not going to wait 4 weeks after release day to rent a movie. I don't see how you cannot see this as a huge blow to Redbox. You might see sales pick up a little, but I think many people will rent in a traditional B&M stores and Netflix. Downloads may also benefit.

WB is changing it's deal with Netflix and BBi By Mail:

Warner Home Video Aug. 13 informed its wholesalers that beginning in October it will change its terms with rental kiosks and mail-order subscription services.

Rental kiosks will get new release titles 28 days after street date. Mail-order subscription services will also have a day-and-date revenue-sharing option.

Additionally, the studio said it would engage solely in direct relationships with kiosk and mail-order subscription vendors

http://www.homemediamagazine.com/kio...ay-delay-16735

And Ingram and the other big wholesaler just lost all of WB's business supplying Netfilx and BBi and the kiosks