Now that we have a winner in the High-Def format battle there’s an opportunity to look to the future with a little more certainty. As I was looking over the Blu-Ray displays in a Best Buy recently my past and my future collided.
I looked at the picture quality and clarity of any of the wide screen home theater displays and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why I would want to go to a conventional theater again. (And I’ve been going steadily since high school when I could first escape the clutches of my parents.)
I’ve stated in the past that the big blockbusters would probably still get me to go, but seeing the difference in picture quality to DVD (which is already a better picture than you get in a theater) made me realize that unless it was IMAX you’d be hard pressed to get my butt out of the house considering the hassles and costs associated. (You can see where this is going as most of you realize that an IMAX showing is more than a conventional theater.)
This is where the past comes in. I did my MBA thesis on digital cinema as a new marketing channel. (And that’s been quite a while back now.) In more technical terms and data I laid out the same problem and its solution: Digital Cinema. Then, as now, the main obstacle to overcome is the cost associated with implementing it. Theater owners don’t make their money on the films. (They have to run a long time for that to happen and under most circumstances today, that’s not happening.) They make them on concessions. So, it’s not too likely that any of them will shell out any cash for digital projection when the booty that comes with it all goes to the studios. The theaters that currently offer digital cinema had the capabilities given to them from a studio. (Mostly Disney.)
The studios reap all of the benefit here as they also greatly reduce the cost of sending their product to theatrical outlets. Sure, there are costs associated with getting the digital pipeline in place, but it’s nothing compared to the long-term ROI.
This leaves the studios and the theater owners in a great long staring contest. Neither side has really blinked in quite a while. (Since the initial testing of the projectors in some theaters and leaving them there to showcase that particular studio’s product.)
While this is going on, the fight for the consumer’s attention is shifting. Home theater is a viable solution for many more people. The studios win regardless, but I think they’re pretty happy with double-dipping the consumer. They want theatrical AND any form of home delivery. (disc or download) What they’ve encountered here is a foe better equipped to negotiate for their terms than the WGA. The studios sorta think they need writers. Right now, they definitely need theatrical distribution. The theater owners know it also.
So, once again it will take an economic spanking before Hollywood will learn its lesson. They have a viable marketing channel that will reduce costs and draw people in as they rediscover what it’s like to experience a movie.
It’s supposed to be business, but too many make it personal. That’s why it gets more ridiculous every time you read an article about Hollywood’s dwindling returns each year. It could be turned around if only some people had not thrown their pride into the middle of the fracas.
No Comments Yet
No comments yet.
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
Leave a comment
