• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, November 10, 2009

An expanding array of media and entertainment choices should mean lower prices for consumers, though some TV networks and cable operators might have you think otherwise.

 

 But if you are the DVD market, the laws of supply and demand still work.

It's not enough that sales of DVD have been slowing over the last year; now there is a pricing war among big retailers -- Walmart.com, Target.com and Amazon.com. All are heavily discounting a number of upcoming fourth-quarter DVD releases to just $10, including "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," "Star Trek" and "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian."

A Wal-Mart executive says this holiday season is going to be "challenging." No kidding. Studios can take solace from the fact that this slowdown is just in online DVD sales. But there is already trouble brewing in other areas, such as DVD rentals from the likes of kiosk DVD retailer Redbox, which rents movies for $1 each.

These trends are the opposite of what's happening with TV ads and theatrical content. TV ad prices continue to be high relative to the recent past, while sales of individual box office tickets for films still grow (which has helped the continued record-breaking U.S. box office results).

Owners of premium TV and film content and their cable distributors sense their content may be more valuable, so they're looking to add fees from consumers on top of advertiser revenue.

If Comcast somehow retains NBC, many are guessing its first step will be to turn NBC into a cable network -- finally benefitting from the dual revenue stream of affiliate fees and advertising revenues cable networks have long enjoyed. That might work - much to the demise of TV stations.

But when it comes to digital media platforms, perhaps TV networks should be sure viewers will indeed pay extra fees for the likes of "CSI" or "Desperate Housewives" or "30 Rock."

Many consumers are already complaining there is limited time to get to all their media/entertainment choices. Start charging for some of it?

Consumers will then do what they always do -- head to the discount bins and sales racks.