Death of TV: Part XXXI

Submitted by acohill on Mon, 09/26/2011 - 13:40

According to the LA Times, eighteen years after the commercialization of the Internet, folks in Hollywood have determined that their might actually be something to that InterTubes things.

What brought about that revelation? A 40% decline in the sale of DVDs, a Hollywood cash cow, caught their attention, many many years after I and probably hundreds of other people predicted that Blockbuster was not going to turn out well. But after I read the article in its entirety, I came to the conclusion that the Hollywood moguls probably still don't really get it. The article goes on in some length to describe the horribly complicated schemes for trying to extract every last dollar from a movie. Boiled down, it tends to go something like this:

• First we'll charge too much for the movie in the theatre.
• Then we'll rely on HBO to charge too much to watch in on the premium cable channels (which are also doomed).
• Then we'll charge too much to watch it on demand for those who are desperate.
• Then we'll charge too much for the DVD/Blu-Ray version in that dying market.
• Eventually we'll get around to making it available via Netflix and other streaming services.

Nothing like a lack of respect for the customer. Here's an idea: Two months after the theatre run, make it available for 5 bucks on every streaming service on the planet. And watch the cash roll in.