Billionaire Mark Cuban has devised a system whereby movies shown in the theatre can simultaneously be seen on TV through his pay service. He thinks the five (or even three) month wait between theatrical release and DVD is too long to keep viewer interest. Think this service will tank?
Mark Cuban's Idea Flawed or Favorable
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Re: Mark Cuban's Idea Flawed or Favorable
But economics show that lots of people don't feel that way. They'd rather wait and rent, so they can sit at home and watch the movie on their big-screen TVs with their home surround sound systems -- and no screaming babies or people talking on cell phones.
Cuban's idea is to grab these people with the same big, expensive marketing campaign that's bringing people to the theaters, rather than waiting three months and doing a second, small campaign in the hope of reminding the home-theater people they wanted to see this flick.
I don't know if it's a great idea, but I wouldn't be too quick to assume it'll tank.
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Re: Mark Cuban's Idea Flawed or Favorable
In the year 3000...
Elementary School Teacher: Back in the year 2000, people would go to a place called a "Movie Theater" to watch films.
Child: They left the house?
Elementary School Teacher: Yes, they would actually go to a separate venue that played the movie and they would watch with other people.
Child#2: Other people, they didn't know, were there?
Elementary School Teacher: Yes.
Children(in unison): Oooohhhhhhhh.
Elementary School Teacher: Settle down, children. Let's move on to history. Open your textbooks to page 231, Chapter 10, "George Bush: Greatest President Ever."
In the yeeeeeaaaarrrrr 3 thousandddddd."Entertaining the world is a full time, up at dawn, never ending siege, the likes of which you will never fully understand."
Billy Thrilly 2005
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Re: Mark Cuban's Idea Flawed or Favorable
The wait-and-renters are going to be there for their pay-per-view when that time comes , whether it is at the same time as theatrical distribution or three months later.
One campaign instead of two, targeted at both theater-goers and home audiences = lower marketing costs overall -- or a much bigger campaign reaching both audiences at the same cost.
It also means getting the home viewers on opening weekend, before the bad reviews come out and kill your movie -- so you get a bigger piece of the home market than you do if you release the movie to home viewers a few months after the critics savage it. A lot of people who wait for the home release never see the movie, because by that time, it's common knowledge the movie sucks.
Cuban thinks this move makes business sense. He may be wrong, but like many self-made billionaires, he does know a little about making money.
This plan will help to kill off the go-to-the-theater crowd.
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Re: Mark Cuban's Idea Flawed or Favorable
Edited to add: posted after Ryan's post.
Incidentally, as an incentive, Cuban's offering a small percentage to theatre chains.
I like his drive, but I dunno if it'll be the cash cow his broadcast business was. Let's say your long awaited multi effects, blockbuster film (King Kong, et. al) is playing in the theatre and on Cuban's home service at the same time. Supposing you had the top of line home theatre system, what would you do?
"What do you do?""I ask every producer I meet if they need TV specs they say yeah. They all want a 40 inch display that's 1080p and 120Hz. So, I quit my job at the West Hollywood Best Buy."
- Screenwriting Friend
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Re: Mark Cuban's Idea Flawed or Favorable
Originally posted by refriedwhiskey
It also means getting the home viewers on opening weekend, before the bad reviews come out and kill your movie -- so you get a bigger piece of the home market than you do if you release the movie to home viewers a few months after the critics savage it. A lot of people who wait for the home release never see the movie, because by that time, it's common knowledge the movie sucks.
Just my experience.
Ele...
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Re: Mark Cuban's Idea Flawed or Favorable
Well, we don't have any numbers that say how a major movie would do on DVD or Pay-Per-View if it came out in that form at the same time as the theatrical release, in the heat of the big theatrical marketing campaign, and before the bad reviews came out. So we don't really know if Cuban's idea would make more money or less in the home market than the current way of doing things.
Obviously, he thinks it'll make more money.
And personally, I can see the appeal. I don't go to the theater these days as much as I used to, because people have become so incredibly inconsiderate and oblivious to everyone around them. And opening weekend just compounds all of that, because you're shoulder-to-shoulder with these sniveling druids.
Meanwhile, I've got a nice, good-sized TV at home and a Dolby Digital/dts sound system. I can watch movies on DVD or via my cable box in widescreen with digital picture and sound. It's not so far from the theatrical experience, and I don't have to put up with strangers who don't care if they ruin the experience. So these days, I wait for the DVD or Pay Per View when I can.
When I can't wait that long, I at least wait until the movie's been out a week or so, then go to a weekday matinee, when the crowds will be at their smallest. The last time I saw a movie on opening day, it was A.I. -- and I ended up with a strange husband and wife sitting on either side of me, the husband snoring loudly five minutes into the movie and the wife reaching across me to hit him.
I mean, Jesus Christ. This is the kind of person you have to share a theater with today.
I swore that day I'd never see another movie on opening day. But if I could see a movie I was very interested in on opening day in my own home, I'd be very tempted to do that. I'd be willing to pay the full ticket price, in fact -- which is something they'd never get me to do for Pay Per View or a DVD rental months after the movie's theatrical release.
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Re: Mark Cuban's Idea Flawed or Favorable
With a percentage of dvd sales being offered, theatres have a chance to make more money than usual from this idea.
Whether it works or not remains to be seen, but it's a good idea. Worth a shot at least. Cuban's taking most of the risk himself, while we stand to lose little, and we gain more choice.
People are still going to go to the theatre, it's a social thing that some humanoids like to do. People like me, who go infrequently, wouldn't go even if you offered them free tickets, because people like me go to the theatre to watch a movie that often gets tainted by people who go to socialize.
Actually, I don't see how this idea can fail. If theatres lose too much money, tough for them, they had their time. What the consumer wants comes first.
I predict dvd profits will slightly rise and theatre profits will slightly fall until the world is one day as dclary imagined it would be. Power to the people.
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Re: Mark Cuban's Idea Flawed or Favorable
Originally posted by Ryan PaigeAnd honestly, if the only thing movie theaters have to offer is being first, then they deserve to fail and will fail eventually whether DVD/TV releases are moved up or not.
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Re: Mark Cuban's Idea Flawed or Favorable
Yeah, but let's hope not. I like to share my enthusiam with others."I ask every producer I meet if they need TV specs they say yeah. They all want a 40 inch display that's 1080p and 120Hz. So, I quit my job at the West Hollywood Best Buy."
- Screenwriting Friend
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