Is TV on Blu-ray Dying?

[MEHEARTJC]

As a collector and completist, I am finding it increasingly annoying to find out that tv shows on being released on dvd, but not blu-ray. The latest one was Fargo season 3. Outsiders season 1 and 2 are dvd only titles. It also appears that WWE in 2017 moved away from blu-ray releases to dvd only.

It's obvious that streaming is killing blu-ray sales. People feel burned when they plop down $30 or more for a tv season only to have it pop up for free streaming on Netflix later. So the studios churn out cheap to make dvd releases with zero effort or bonus features. On the other end, they are really promoting 4K as a quick money grab. Blu-ray just seems to be left in the dust right now.

[CinemaScope]

As far as disc numbers are concerned, I've bought a lot more TV series than movies this year. With Fox I get the feeling that it's not just about sales figures, it's more of a control thing, as if they don't want people to have HD hard copies of their programs, but most big TV programs are still getting Bly-ray releases.

[steve_dave]

Streaming has no real impact on sales, regardless of what others say.

Simply put, economics has an impact. You can't convince a consumer with a limited budget to justify paying the premium for TV on Blu-ray.

Sure, Warner has sales on their DC and big "hits" titles but Fox, Universal, and Paramount rarely allow these.

This past Black Friday: Supergirl: Season 2 DVD was the doorbuster for Target and Best Buy with the Bku-ray still at near regular price. It finally is at $14.99 but the first season dipped passed that during Black Friday weekend.

Warehouse 13 Complete Series - $37 on DVD, $83 on Blu-ray at Amazon. That's a nearly $50 difference which is huge.

Sure you can buy the UK import for less at $35 before shipping costs through Amazon UK. However, not many consumers whose dollars count know or even attempt to import titles. The consumers who matter are the ones who go into a Walmart and want to buy it now or are just accustomed to Amazon US.

There are rare pricing victories like Mill Creek's releases of Universal's classic TV which is usually sold for under $35.

New shows though like Fargo and the Outsiders need to show they can sell. And if the first season sells vastly better on DVD, they aren't going to spend money on making a product that won't sell.

Angie Tribeca is DVD only and has minimal extras but TBS and Warner know this isn't a show that's going to do gangbusters on Blu-ray. So offer a DVD that can be discounted cheaply and sell as expected.

[surfdude12]

The Americans - one of highest rated TV shows on Metacritic = only released on DVD

[dan10017]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

The Americans - one of highest rated TV shows on Metacritic = only released on DVD

Would love for them to release Mad Men on 4K

[steve_dave]

Originally Posted by surfdude12

The Americans - one of highest rated TV shows on Metacritic = only released on DVD

Season One is on Blu-ray.

[dan10017]

Originally Posted by MEHEARTJC

As a collector and completist, I am finding it increasingly annoying to find out that tv shows on being released on dvd, but not blu-ray. The latest one was Fargo season 3. Outsiders season 1 and 2 are dvd only titles. It also appears that WWE in 2017 moved away from blu-ray releases to dvd only.

It's obvious that streaming is killing blu-ray sales. People feel burned when they plop down $30 or more for a tv season only to have it pop up for free streaming on Netflix later. So the studios churn out cheap to make dvd releases with zero effort or bonus features. On the other end, they are really promoting 4K as a quick money grab. Blu-ray just seems to be left in the dust right now.

I wouldn't call streaming on Netflix as free. You still have to pay. By the way % of original content of Netflix produced shows are up and streaming of other TV shows are down (save the British shows that's up). You are definately right about 4K: Its a quick money grab. I buy 4K disc but very selective, must provide all around value to justify spending. In a couple of years I'm sure they will put on 4K the Star Wars movies and the James Bond series.

[slop101]

I'm afraid that with Disney buying Fox, they're gonna kill the newly continued release of the Simpsons on dvd/blu, as Disney is even more anti TV on dvd/blu than Fox is.

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by steve_dave

Season One is on Blu-ray.

Thanks, I didn't know they had season 1 out. Might snag that.

[surfdude12]

Originally Posted by steve_dave

Streaming has no real impact on sales, regardless of what others say.

Simply put, economics has an impact. You can't convince a consumer with a limited budget to justify paying the premium for TV on Blu-ray.

if streaming has no impact on sales, then consumers wouldn't be declining to buy blu-ray over a (less quality) streaming alternative.

[figrin_dan]

Whenever I see that a series I would buy on Blu is only available on dvd, I consider the dvd then don't bother buying it.

It's getting to the point where the only way to get certain things in HD is illegal.

[McCrutchy]

I still think part of the problem is that studios routinely create the expectation that TV series are only released on DVD.

Consider that Fox, coming back to physical releases of The Simpsons, chose not to release a Blu-ray of season eighteen. Now, sure, they probably have some kind of data--at least I hope they do--that shows seasons thirteen through seventeen sold poorly on Blu-ray versus DVD. And yet, there was a three-year gap in between the release of season seventeen and season eighteen, during which time, Blu-ray only grew in stature, enough to spawn UHD Blu-ray. Fox could easily have released season eighteen on Blu-ray, and then, if sales had been poor, in continuing the series, they may have been able to justify DVD-only releases. As it stands, we'll never know how season eighteen of The Simpsons would have done on Blu-ray, because Fox spent months creating the expectation that it would only be released on DVD, and so many people who would have bought the Blu-ray have instead already purchased the DVD.

That's just one example, but another is the now-common scenario of not releasing a first season on Blu-ray. Again, if a first season is only on DVD, the automatic assumption is that subsequent seasons will be DVD-only, too. Likewise, if you have a Warner Archive TV Blu-ray, unfortunately, Warner only puts the DVD in stores, so many people assume that shows like iZombie and Lucifer are not available on Blu-ray.

That's why I've been so reticent to pick up any network series on HDTV. I want to watch a show first or again on Blu-ray, so with few exceptions, I don't bother to watch all but the biggest premium and cable TV series, because I now expect that most network and even cable shows are unlikely to get a Blu-ray release, regardless of critical praise or popularity.

Ironically, many series mentioned here, like The Americans, Angie Tribeca and subsequent seasons of Fargo, are shows I would happily watch, and spend money on, if I knew they would get Blu-ray releases.

[EVERYONE LIES]

I'm going to play the Devil's Advocate here. The media likes to talk about this being the new golden age of TV, it's not. There is just simply too much TV all over the place, the market is saturated. Nothing stands out. TV has become fragmented. This is not to trash people that watch TV, it is just reality. Nothing is that popular anymore.

[Vandal Savage]

I think streaming does have an impact, combined with the fact that people are realizing that most tv shows have limited replay value. Most people just don't see the need to own tv series on blu-ray or DVD. Television programming by its nature, has seasons that run between nine and sixteen hours, and long-running series dan have well over one hundred episodes. It's not something that can easily be revisited like a two,hour movie.

Certain marquee series, like Game of Thrones, will generate interest from buyers, but most series won't.

While "tv on dvd" was a big deal tennor fifteen years ago, the market has corrected, and people don't see the need to own physical copies of most of this stuff.

[Brandon K]

Looks like Orville's first season will be on DVD and not Blu-ray. Why anyone would want to watch a scifi show with great sets and fantastic visual effects in standard definition is beyond me Why anyone would want to watch any currently-produced HD show in standard definition on a DVD I just cannot understand

[drb124]

Originally Posted by EVERYONE LIES

I'm going to play the Devil's Advocate here. The media likes to talk about this being the new golden age of TV, it's not. There is just simply too much TV all over the place, the market is saturated. Nothing stands out. TV has become fragmented. This is not to trash people that watch TV, it is just reality. Nothing is that popular anymore.

I think that there is some truth to that. There is just so much out there, that it is impossible to see it all, and to go along with the comment below with something new always coming out to watch, it is hard to budget time to sit down with an entire series, therefore you see less and less people buying the series thinking, that they could always pay for a month of Hulu or Netflix, watch the series they want and cancel it. I know that a lot of people now wait for complete sets on blu-ray since they have been burned before by studios (FOX) discontinuing blu-rays in the middle of a show's run so much that it is almost expected unless you are dealing with Warner or HBO. Because of that reticence to buy tv on blu-ray season by season for fear of the show going dvd only, the sales for individual seasons have gone down, leading studios to release subsequent seasons dvd only. So it is a bit of a Catch 22 in that regard. At least that is my take on it.

Originally Posted by Vandal Savage

I think streaming does have an impact, combined with the fact that people are realizing that most tv shows have limited replay value. Most people just don't see the need to own tv series on blu-ray or DVD. Television programming by its nature, has seasons that run between nine and sixteen hours, and long-running series dan have well over one hundred episodes. It's not something that can easily be revisited like a two,hour movie.

Certain marquee series, like Game of Thrones, will generate interest from buyers, but most series won't.



While "tv on dvd" was a big deal tennor fifteen years ago, the market has corrected, and people don't see the need to own physical copies of most of this stuff.

[MifuneFan]

I can't even keep up with all the great Netflix originals out there, and there's some Amazon ones too. I personally don't feel to need to own most TV shows.

[cakefactory]

This is all just what I've experienced with all the students I deal with that I see watching a lot of TV, but basically everyone with Netflix thinks of the shows on there as being as good as owned and would NEVER spend money on discs of them. Not only would they take up physical space (and be unplayable on their laptop or TV, since no laptop manufacturer includes DVD drives, let alone blu-ray drives, and no one buys a dedicated player, and only some kids buy game systems), they're "paying for something they already have." I don't know how this is reconciled with the fact stuff disappears from Netflix all the time, but I haven't pressed the matter cause I'm not trying to change anyone's mind. A couple times I've seen them hit the end of the available seasons on Netflix, get annoyed, and then if I offer to lend them the disc they'll be like "thanks, but I can't play that!!"

Most people don't feel a need to watch something repeatedly, and if they do, it's probably on Netflix or Hulu or able to be streamed from some dodgy website that comes up instantly if you search [show name] +stream on Google. TV on disc is absolutely dying, even with shows that formerly got blu-ray releases. I wish I could have gotten S3/4/5 of Louie on anything other than MOD DVD, even though that would never happen now given...things. We get nerd shows these days (ex superheroes, dragons, vampires, Sherlocks, Dr Whos) and that's about it.

[thatguamguy]

Originally Posted by slop101

I'm afraid that with Disney buying Fox, they're gonna kill the newly continued release of the Simpsons on dvd/blu, as Disney is even more anti TV on dvd/blu than Fox is.

Haha, good point, Disney still hasn't even finished releasing "The Muppet Show" on DVD.

[stvn1974]