Saturday, 24 October 2009

• Hollywood and Hulu: The New Industry Heartbreakers

  
  
  Image Source
  

  
  I've read a lot of semi-devastating news today re: Hollywood film studios and Hulu. I say semi because my knee-jerk reaction to both stories was, "No, change is bad!" But after reflecting on each for several hours, I'm ready to say that coming changes may be at least OK.
  
  First: Hulu. One of the board members let it slip today that the streaming TV and movie website may begin charging for some or all of its content in 2010. I've seen a lot of articles covering this, but a friend of mine (a major techie) discredits the story as little more than a rumor.
  
  Either way, I think we all knew deep inside that the dream of Hulu couldn't last forever—their ad revenue just doesn't seem profitable enough to justify all of that free content. PC World has a good article called "5 Ways I'd Pay for Hulu," suggesting ways the site could go about charging its users. Personally, I'd be all about an unlimited monthly subscription (assuming it was $5, maybe $10), especially if it synced with cable/Xbox/etc.
  
  And, in more confirmed news: The big Hollywood film studios are looking to delay DVD rentals until several weeks after each disc goes on sale. So, if you really want to see Good Hair but you missed it in theaters, you'll only be able to buy the DVD for the first month or so of its release—then the studios will allow it to be rented. This would apply to in-store getups like Blockbuster, in addition to Netflix-type services, and even Redbox (those kiosk things), according to The Los Angeles Times.
  
  So basically: Netflix and Redbox rentals are up, Blockbuster is in some weird identity crisis/purgatory, and DVD sales are down, down, down. To entice the rental companies to the aforementioned time-delay, the studios would probably need to sell them their DVDs at reduced wholesale prices. But, if the powers that be can agree on a good price, this deal might benefit everyone... except for the consumer.
  
  When I heard about the proposed block, the first thing I thought of was book-buying—how, if you want to get a book right away, you have to spend more on a hardcover edition. The block would be a little annoying at first, but I can see it becoming one of those things where, a couple of years after the fact, people will go, "Wasn't it always this way?"
  
  What I'm more worried about are DVD sales in general. It's possible that not being able to rent a movie right off the bat will drive some devotees to making a purchase, but I think most of us will either wait to rent or download a bootleg version. Sorry Hollywood, the only time I ever buy DVDs is from the Blockbuster bargain bin.
  
  Would you pay to watch Hulu? What do you think about the DVD rental block?
  

  • 2:11 PM
  • 424 Views
  • 10 eProps
  • 6 Comments