Movie studios keep forgetting the key issue of premium TV/ movie content glut: It’s price, not time.
Executives keep thinking consumers are willing to pay a premium to see movies in
their homes. Often, it is just a couple of weeks after a film’s theatrical release.
Such beliefs may not be sustainable in a world flooded with too much content: TV, movies and lesser
premium digital media. The more than 400 scripted TV shows is only one issue; there is a glut of theatrical films released with few viewers to ensure financial survival.
What does that mean
for Comcast and Amazon joining Apple to develop a delivery system
for premium VOD titles? It would be available for home viewing 30 days to
45 days after debuting in theaters.
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That lag time isn’t an issue; it’s all about price. There is ample content that consumers haven’t even screened yet.
That
said, theatrical film consumers might pay $30 to see a movie at home on the first day of its theatrical release — now four weeks after the fact. We all know
where the business wrinkles are: movie exhibitors looking to protect their long-term interests.
Half of all theatrical revenues for theatrical movies occur in the first two weeks, and 80% in
the first 10 weeks. Movie theater owners depend heavily on their revenues in the first weeks of a film’s release.
For more than a decade, there have been multiple iterations of digital
movie efforts trying to find the right formula for selling home exhibition. Virtually all have resulted in lukewarm success.
Recently, MoviePass, a monthly service, lowered its price tag
from $50.00 a month to $9.95 a month. A consumer can see up to one movie per day for 30 days. Consumers know when they see a bargain, rushing to the MoviePass site in reaction to the news.
All
this suggests consumers know a keener score. And that is the amount of money they can spend per movie or for unlimited TV-movie content. The time factor? Everyone has moments when they are late to the
content.