Commentary

Consumers Share Comic-Con Content Despite Warnings Not To

by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, July 10, 2015

Many rabid TV viewers seem to want more, cheaper access to their favorite entertainment brands and/or riffing off that content with new technology. Are there new problems here?

Event organizers of the Comic-Con event in San Diego were concerned about “live streaming” of their celebrity panels -- and they issued warnings beforehand.

No matter. Consumers were streaming event content -- using the likes of Periscope as well as other live-streaming platforms.

Some believe there is a fine line here -- especially when it comes non-copyrighted material. A bigger concern isn’t just with celebrity panels, but with the screening of actual TV and movie footage.

Other big industry events -- like the Consumer Electronics Show -- don’t have the same issues, since little in the form or celebrity content winds up there. And many of the 170,000 or so participants of that event are business executives -- or at least pretend to be.

But Comic-Con is mostly all about consumers. But what can it do next -- confiscate everyone’s smartphone? Right now, taking video or photos is permitted, but recording footage from screenings isn’t allowed.

For those movies studios/TV companies the positive edge from Comic-Con and similar events comes from consumer promotional/marketing-- building early buzz for new movies and TV shows.

Having average consumers creating content -- and sharing it -- is just what the doctor ordered in a world of exploding entertainment content. Still, it is not so good for event organizers looking to lure more fans to events that can cost anywhere from $18 to $50 per ticket per day.

Remember when new social media technology was in its infancy -- but growing by leaps and bounds? Traditional TV/movie executives were then nervous about how they would be able to control their “message.” Well, they adjusted.

Piracy issues? Some would secretly say this isn’t so bad in building buzz for a particular entertainment brand. Worried about Google Glass and Periscope? Think ahead; new technology is sure to keep coming.

3 comments about "Consumers Share Comic-Con Content Despite Warnings Not To".

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Douglas Ferguson from College of Charleston, July 10, 2015 at 2:53 p.m.
Meerkat and Periscope work pretty well inside a ball cap, too. An iPhone fits in a hat (which has been a privacy conern for years with other devices: http://www.amazon.com/Covert-Spy-Hidden-Hat-Camera/dp/B0046U3JLC)

MLB should be concerned? But not for their players. Look for some footage without the express written permission of MLB.
Reply

Paula Lynn from Who Else Unlimited, July 10, 2015 at 8:36 p.m.

Delightful to look at. Lovely to hold. Once your broke it, we mark it sold. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall....

Mark Beers from Strata, July 13, 2015 at 6:16 p.m.

Thanks for writing about this Wayne. I really, really struggle to put myself in a place of understanding with these companies getting bent out of shape over items leaking from comi-con or any large convention for that matter. (E3, Pax, Blizzcon) It is a really interesting conundrum for content creators attending big events like this. On one hand they want to reward their dedicated fans who put in the money to attend a convention or spend the time to wait hours for access to Hall H. On the other hand though...have these people NOT meet the Internet? While it is cute. The expectation that these clips will not leak is sadly just nieve. How these content companies can even walk into a pannel at a convention with the expectation that what is discussed and shown wont get leaked is insane. To me it feels obvious that when prepping for a pannel they should have the mindset of "If you don't want it seen outside of this room...don't show it inside the room." Which sadly...does hurt the fan experience.