Why The Day-n-Date 24 DVD Release Makes Sense
The NYT wrote about it tonight…24’s current season will be released on DVD the day after the season ends.
Doesn’t make a lot of sense for movies.
Makes a lot of sense for TV, especially shows where the network’s interest in re-runs is limited or not going to happen at all.
The investment in the weekly ritual of free TV, leading to a climax, is not threatened by a quick DVD release. No one is going to stop watching the season in week 22 so they can watch it on DVD instead.
Interest in the DVD experience will, indeed, be at its height as the show comes to its much discussed season end. If Fox is going to convert non-viewers – and no one is going to start watching 24 in week 22 any more than a regular is going to stop watching – that is the moment to do it. Even if they aren’t going to watch it right then, this is the only way to create a really strong impulse buy vibe for a show.
Movies, on the other hand, are not free… they aren’t serialized… and the entire theatrical sell is an impulse sell… whereas the DVD sell for movies is a habit sale combined with raised interests.
I still feel that day-n-date can work for art house product. The need to maximize every dime of marketing combined with the lack of access for most of the country to these films makes it a very different play again. I don’t expect them to do it, but I think that Sony Classics would be very well served by trying this out on an Almodovar movie, where there is such a great history and so many people who have a relationship with the filmmaker would be thrilled to have the access to the product before they forget the excitement that gets built up around the festival circuit for his films.
Anyway… interesting landmark… very dangerous not to understand why TV is so very different than the film industry (or the music business) in this way…
This sort of release pattern works for 24. A show that’s going on a hiatus until January of next year. It just does not work for most shows that use the release of their previous season DVDs as promotion for the upcoming season. That’s just how it goes these days, and it’s an effective strategy. Even if it cost me a shitload of money come late July into August.
Well, all I know is that I don’t watch much TV these days because I’d rather watch stuff on DVD. I’m currently starting up Battlestar Galactica plus continuing to relive the treasures of The Golden Girls.
I want Empty Nest damn it! WHERE’S MY EMPTY NEST!???!?! Oh yeah, WHERE’S MY FUCKING DEAR JOHN? I NEED MY JUDD HIRSCH FIX! I NEED IT! OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I NEED IT!
Oh man, what’s Park Overall up to these days?
Of course, the downside – I just checked one of the major pirating sites, and the “24” finale (airing tonight) is apparently already available.
Did anybody ever run numbers on “Che?” That was available On Demand at the same time it did a whopping $1.5 million in theaters. Did it actually get any interest on TV?
A faster turnaround for TV on DVD makes some sense, because television is one of those things that you’d like to talk to your friends about, but you won’t have that chance if you watch something nine months after everyone else. I usually watch a season of Lost only after it’s released on DVD, and usually by then my friends that watch it upon first broadcast have forgotten all the details.
Being able to buy episodes on iTunes mitigates that problem somewhat. But if you can buy something on iTunes the day after it airs I don’t see why you shouldn’t be able to buy the DVD, too.
I think you’re right. For people who don’t have access to a DVR, being able to buy a DVD if they miss an episode of 24 or Lost isn’t a bad idea.
And I think that day-and-date DVD releases (or on-demand or whatever) for art house movies is incredibly helpful, especially for those of us outside bigger cities.
It’s a neat idea, but it’ll only work for the kind of show that A) takes a longer than three month hiatus and B) has a legion of solid hard core fans. It would work for Lost too, maybe Mad Men, but it wouldn’t make a darn bit of difference for something like CSI. And doing this for premium network shows would be suicide. Who would pay HBO for four months of Big Love or The Tudors when they can just rent the DVDs the day after the season ends and blow through it in a week?
Having said that, if the DVD set for 7th season of 24 takes off in any real way, expect networks to consider shifting their production schedules so other shows can play this game too. It won’t work for everyone, but that doesn’t mean other shows won’t be forced to play along.
Also: I realize there would be a limited market for them, but I wish the decision-makers would decide to release DVDs of short-lived TV series as qucikly as possible after they’re cancelled, while there’s still some (again, limited) interest. I would pay for the complete packages of Raines and Peacemakers.
Scott, perhaps with networks like HBO a shorter release window would expand the audience rather than cannibalize the subscriber base. It might not be zero-sum.
I might be an odd case, but I cancelled cable service some time ago. I would gladly pay $10 a month for HBO if I could do so without paying the $50 a month for basic cable as a prerequisite. Instead, I rely on the DVDs.
The end of The Sopranos would have been much more exciting for me if I could have watched almost-concurrently with all my friends, rather than months after everyone had already gotten bored talking about it.
If HBO could do so without killing its relationship with the cable providers, it would strike deals to sell a $10/month subscription via internet connections delivered to the living room by TiVos, Xbox 360s, PS3s, AppleTVs, and anything else with a network jack.
The problem is that the cable companies sell both the internet service and the TV service. They’d never let it happen, because improving the former would jeopardize the latter.
This strikes me as the perfect time to lean on some antitrust laws, but it’ll never happen.
Josh – I believe Soderbergh said they were looking at about $2.5 million in PPV.
If it helps encourage all the episodes in a row with no breaks, I’m all for it.
ABC should have done this with Lost. I would buy would buy season 5 on Blu-ray right away.
Disney could not do this with LOST. Those DVDs are too loaded with extras to produce during a season. Especially show like LOST, that may not have locked episodes until a week (maybe more) before airing. It’s just not feasible.
24 is just a different show, and they did have about eight episodes in the can before the strike. So it’s not like they did not have the time to do the extras at that point. Hell, those DVDS could be barebones tomorrow. Not like you have time to film a commentary for an episode you are already doing.
Great point, I never thought about that stuff.
Sony Pictures Classics releasing the next Almodovar on DVD day-and-date with theatrical? Look for AMC, Regal and Cinemark to ban all SPC product.
At least the pre-9/11 Miramax knew how to get arty fare into theaters.
Yes those arthouse classics of Bounce, Bridget Jones, and Serendipity had to have been difficult to distribute given the American audience’s distate for the english language and light romantic comedies.
“At least the pre-9/11 Miramax knew how to get arty fare into theaters.”
They still do. It’s just that audiences aren’t interested.
Well, to be fair: Serendipity opened after 9/11.
Alright, strike Serendipity and go with She’s all that.
The point is that most of the Artier films from Miramax only played in a hundred theaters at their widest. They made their money off the mainstream stuff.
And when all the money was counted at the end of the Weinstein’s reign, they had broken even. Still an accomplishment given their core product but SPC’s small profits are probably more important to Sony than a two percent increase in Market Share.