Popular video rental company Netflix has announced today that they have signed agreements with Twentieth Century Fox and Universal, which means subscribers will have to wait 28 days to get new releases from the studios, similar to the deal signed with Warner a few months ago.
As part of the deal, Fox will give Netflix a streaming license for Fox TV shows, meaning there is a chance popular ... [ read the full article ]
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When video stores were at the height of popularity you didn't have to wait 28 days for new releases. Why should I have to wait now? The studios think this is going help their DVD sales. I think it is going to drive people to pirate at a higher rate. It ony takes one individual with a purchased copy to put it on a torrent site. If the studios would bring the cost of their product down to an affordable level, piracy would be less of an issue.
NetFlix is trying to help Blockbuster stay alive by adding value to their service. They don't want to be a monopoly I guess. Blockbuster's service is really crappy, but at least you can get all the NetFlix-delayed titles when they're released, or almost, if you factor in the poor-service delays. So on the average, add a two-week delay to BB for these titles just because of their general ineptitude. Still, this whole delayed-release business has caused me to dial back my NF membership and add to my BB membership. I'm with BB until the bitter end! Please be smarter BB! Close all of your stupid stores already and focus on improving your online service!
Originally posted by 20TONS: When video stores were at the height of popularity you didn't have to wait 28 days for new releases.
Very true. Having worked in the industry when VHS was still the rage and DVD was in its infacy, it used to be quite the opposite, where VHS titles were available for rental first, and then on sale 30-90 days after the rental window closed.
PPV worked much the same way, with rental getting the nod first, and sometimes PPV before the retail street date. HBO and others would wait well over a year before getting the same movie. Nowadays DirecTV appears to have some sort of pact where they are getting the PPV before Netflix and Redbox. They charge about $5-6 for each movie! Truly sad.
Originally posted by ng6: NetFlix is trying to help Blockbuster stay alive by adding value to their service. They don't want to be a monopoly I guess. Blockbuster's service is really crappy, but at least you can get all the NetFlix-delayed titles when they're released, or almost, if you factor in the poor-service delays.
It's only because Blockbuster is an arm of the parent company for Universal. I smell a lawsuit brewing. It's quite pathetic that the studios need to force these hard dates on profitable companies such as Netflix. As for myself, I'll wait 30 days or more to watch most of the crap Hollywood has out there. If I want to see it badly enough, piracy isn't the answer: I'll go out and buy a movie ticket! (Granted, I can count those trips on one hand!)
Originally posted by ukhn99: Well that is just another reason why people would pirate new release.
Yep, I guess their plan was that people who really want to see the movie will go out and buy the dvd. But I think they forgot that most people have netflix so they can watch lots of movies without buying them.
