DISTRIBUTION AND CONSUMPTION IN 2009
Dec 18 | Author: Roger Erik Tinch
After having attended The Conversation and the International Film Festival Summit, as well as having read numerous articles and taking part in numerous discussions, I’ve been thinking about what 2009 might bring in terms of film distribution and consumption. Here’s a quick and dirty download of my thoughts as we head into the new year:
Bringing online content to the TV
Whether it be Netflix Watch Instantly, Amazon Video On Demand or iTunes the online film space is not without a lot of choice. However I think the most successful of these options will be those that make it easy to bring content to your television set. Since Microsoft recently overhauled the Xbox LIVE experience, literally dubbing it the “New Xbox Experience” or NXE, I’ve been hooked on the Netflix application that allows me to view any film that’s currently in my Watch Instantly queue. It’s such an easy idea that extends the value of both products without asking me for extra money. Plus I get a sense of no-risk comfort in watching films I might not otherwise give a chance if I had to pay-per-view.
This year though we’ve seen the trend of set top boxes, such as the Roku or the Blockbuster MediaPoint player, created specifically to deliver this streaming media. I just don’t think people are willing or able to add yet another box on top of their already cluttered TV in addition to their DVD/Blu-ray player, gaming console, TiVo or cable company provided DVR. Faced with this inundation of devices most will end up viewing this media on their laptop which I guess is suitable to some. For most the key is to utilize already existing components, like the TiVo, the above mentioned Xbox, or hopefully nextgen Blu-ray players, to bring that online content to the living room. The Netflix/Xbox and TiVo/Jaman partnerships are the first step in making this happen, the synergy of which will help connect the fractured content landscape in 2009.
Physical media will not die
Speaking of Blu-ray and DVDs I don’t agree with the consensus that it’ll soon be tolling the death knell. Online video is strong in rental, but I don’t know many people who have bought-to own digital films. There’s something very satisfying about owning a tangible version of your favorite movie. I had a great conversation with experimental filmmaking legend Craig Baldwin during the 2008 festival about the idea of “physical artifacts”. For some psychological reason the idea a film exists in a compact package, or artifact, you can lend or add to your bookshelf is far more powerful then the notion that you “own” it on a hard drive, a digital void that’s out of sight. That’s why companies like The Criterion Collection go above and beyond to make the physical packaging just as beautiful as the screen presentation because the film as it exists on screen is tied so closely to the amaray case it exists in after you’re done watching. It’ll be interesting to see how successful their new Online Cinematheque is since they are stripping away that tangible component. If that seems like too much of an esoteric stretch then let’s look at it in a more nuts and bolts way.
Most recently THE DARK KNIGHT, selling 10 million units, and MAMMA MIA! THE MOVIE, selling 2 million units in it’s first day, have done huge blockbuster sales amidst a grim economic backdrop. The fact that these films exist in HD on iTunes hasn’t slowed down their plastic disc counterparts. Now I’m not saying online distribution won’t succeed, I’m just saying it will succeed, but only in the rental realm. Instead of popping on down to your local Blockbuster you’ll instead power up your Xbox or TiVo and order something while in your pajamas. Actually I predict the rate of rentals increasing due to the easy access and the spontaneous nature of having it right at your fingertips. Physical media will coexist right along with digital media, but each for different purposes. One to own and one to taste test.
Short form content is online king
Duh, right? Then why are companies still trying to push for feature film distribution through widgets and the like? Who wants to watch a two hour movie on a 2-inch by 2-inch size player? Go to what’s this year’s success story, Hulu, and see what the top 20 viewed videos are. Most are between 10 – 20 minutes with a smattering of 44 minute episodes. The first feature film doesn’t show up until #27 with the THE FIFTH ELEMENT. The fact that a big Hollywood film on a popular video site that’s being shown for free can’t even break into the top 20 reveals a lot about our viewing habits.
The Wild Wild West of the web is a 50/50 affair. 50% of it is spent looking for specific content while the other 50% is spent just exploring the frontier. It’s this latter half of our online habit that distributors rely on to try and hook you into viewing their film. Hence sticking a film widget or library widget on a website sidebar hoping for you to click and view, but that just doesn’t happen, not when your initial 30 minutes of surfing the web can turn into a 2 hour investment. The best way to work with this is to show the first 5 – 10 minutes and if the viewer wants to see more then give them the option to purchase the rest either by finishing it online or downloading to a TV set top box. I saw a great interview with Netflix CEO Reed Hastings at The Conversation where he said that most customers viewing a “Watch Instantly” film online who make it past the 5 minute mark end up finishing the film. (Interesting to note that Amazon Video On Demand only allows you to see the first 2.5 minutes before demanding that you pay.)
The Takeaway
So what can you as either a distributor or consumer take away from the above blatherings? Ultimately it’s all about harnessing the speed, accessibility and virality of the internet to bring home viewing content back where it belongs: on the T.V.
Now of course all of this is just my opinion and I’m sure 2009 will have plenty of surprises, especially from that Steve Jobs fellow and his damn Apple TV product he’s still figuring out. So a year from now if I’m wrong then feel free to gloat, but if I’m right then let me know what part of your forehead I can stamp ITYS.
In the meantime please comment away, would love to hear your thoughts as well.
(Photo: MC MECHANIC – HAND FIXING HAND – by Shane Willis)
See also:
- MeDEPLOY: FILM DISTRIBUTION ON ANY SITE
- INTERVIEW WITH MATT DENTLER ON DISTRIBUTION IN THE DIGITAL AGE
- INTERVIEW WITH EFE CAKAREL OF THE AUTEURS
Dec 18 at 16:21
“Online video is strong in rental, but I don’t know many people who have bought-to own digital films. There’s something very satisfying about owning a tangible version of your favorite movie.”
i agree that ownership will still be important – but i think only to a small percentage of the population. i know i’m already unusual in that i rarely buy movies (most that i have were given to me as gifts), but i don’t think i’m unusual in hardly ever watching the ones i own.
so i think when the great online library of all content is instantly and easily accessible for next to or nothing via your widescreen tv, ownership will essentially be meaningless. i wouldn’t buy even my favorite films if i could simply sit down in front of my tv and call it up – and then when i’d watched my favorite scene, jump off to some ancillary material or seamlessly transition to a site with analysis or into the game version.
that world will be here sooner than we think and it will decimate plastic ownership of titles.
Dec 18 at 23:00
[...] familiar and oddly comforting. Take, for example, Roger Erik Tinch’s take on cinematic “Distribution and Consumption in 2009,” a particularly illustrative instance of the phenomenon. Tinch presents the observable fact [...]
Dec 18 at 23:05
Mr. Tinch, I have quite a bit to say in response to your article. Rather than say it all here, I have posted my comments to be own blog at the URL given below. I invite responses from either you or your readers, either here or in the comments section on my own post.
http://www.oakstreetfilms.com/2008/12/19/the-present-is-not-the-future/
Dec 19 at 01:39
Hey Roger!
I bought me a Roku player and I LOVE it. For me it was the price point ($99) and the fact that I’m no longer a gamer, since owning the ill-fated Atari 5200 in 1985…
I think you’re spot on in pointing out that the no-risk/no extra money to shell out per film scenario is the golden ticket for consumers, psychologically. I predict that simply Netflix’s monthly subscription model, plus the sub $100 device price, will, more than anything else, make them the service to beat. As long as they keep ramping up the Download Instantly library!
Dec 22 at 17:04
[...] fact, look at what the future could hold! We are in an absolutely prime spot to beat the big guys on a lot of these distribution fronts. Be [...]