Why the Dying DVD Business Could Be Headed for a Resurrection

[StarFuryG7]

Why the Dying DVD Business Could Be Headed for a Resurrection

[filmlover22]

excellent news! we shall see!

[Dragon78]

I love my physical media, more so blu rays then DVDs, but something is better then nothing.

[StarFuryG7]

Originally Posted by Dragon78

I love my physical media, more so blu rays then DVDs, but something is better then nothing.

The article is really about physical disc media in general. Blu-rays are specifically referenced numerous times there as well, and 4k discs are also a Blu-ray format. They're simply marketed as "4k UHD," but they're 4k UHD Blu-rays, and I seriously doubt that people who prefer to buy Blu-rays over standard DVD's, and 4k UHD's when they're available, will want to step all the way down to standard DVD discs. That simply won't happen. It's an insult to people that prefer the highest format possible.

[UFOX]

Collecting Physical media for more than 35 years and I still love it!

[Member-222782]

Streaming is a logical next step in tech and entertainment access but nobody wants to go back to the pre-home video era, where studios dictated what people could watch and when. The more people realize the value of a physical media collection, the faster they'll turn their backs against streaming. And that could only be good news.

Lol at Netflix shutting down their DVD rental business because it "only" made 146 million last year. Many companies would kill for that kind of business.

[MifuneFan]

Originally Posted by Cinema84

Lol at Netflix shutting down their DVD rental business because it "only" made 146 million last year. Many companies would kill for that kind of business.

It would make no financial sense to continue a business with such significant declining revenue. The costs involved in their DVD by Mail business were clearly not worth the amount of revenue they were getting back. While I'm sure many companies would kill for that amount, for Netflix, it is less than 0.5% of their overall revenue.

[surfinhank]

Originally Posted by Cinema84

Lol at Netflix shutting down their DVD rental business because it "only" made 146 million last year. Many companies would kill for that kind of business.

Maybe they need that money for executive bonuses:

https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/02/inves...pay/index.html


The highlights:

Netflix’s proposed executive pay packages for 2023 included up to $40 million for Sarandos, including base salary, a performance bonus and stock options. Peters could receive up to $34.6 million.

Reed Hastings, who stepped down as Netflix (NFLX) CEO in January and now serves as the company’s executive chairman, would bring home about $3 million for the year.

Other Netflix executives are expecting big payouts in 2023. According to the proposal, Netflix CFO Spencer Neumann would receive $14 million, chief legal officer David Hyman would get $11 million and chief communications officer Rachel Whetstone is on track to receive $6.5 million.

The median Netflix employee made $218,400 in 2022, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. That would make the ratio of CEO pay to median employee pay 234 to 1.

Netflix’s board, meanwhile, is able to disregard the results of this “say on pay” vote and approve executive compensation plans in spite of shareholder wishes. The board has already unanimously recommended voting for the pay packages

[NeilZ]

Great article.

[Danespina]

Serious question. How much stronger can the physical media business get? I feel like the month to month release schedule is already exhausting as is. So many damn excellent releases it’s hard to pick and choose.

[Moviefan2k4]

I still think it sucks that Best Buy is ditching Blu-Ray, and something tells me that Wal-Mart won't be able to hold onto it exclusively (they did let go of music CDs, after all). But hopefully I'll be proven wrong, even though most of my Blu-Rays are bought off Amazon these days.

[formula_nebula]

This is why I very rarely stream. I'll always choose physical over streaming.

Walmart and Amazon will hold onto physical discs for as long as they can. If major studios one day decided to stop producing discs, then that would be a major blow. All that would be left, would be the boutique labels, and they aren't showing any signs of stopping. If they are making a profit (which they are) then they will continue to strive.

[Danespina]

Originally Posted by formula_nebula

If they are making a profit (which they are) then they will continue to strive.

I just can't imagine why so many companies would be releasing so many titles if they weren't making any money. I understand sales aren't what they used to be, but most these labels must be doing something right.

[StarFuryG7]

Originally Posted by Cinema84

Streaming is a logical next step in tech and entertainment access but nobody wants to go back to the pre-home video era, where studios dictated what people could watch and when. The more people realize the value of a physical media collection, the faster they'll turn their backs against streaming. And that could only be good news.

Streaming isn't going anywhere either. We're stuck with it, for better or worse. It's a question of choosing the best platform or platforms for your content.

And of course, for some people, money is a factor.

It all depends on how much disposable income one has to put towards it.

If it comes down to Netflix, or Apple TV+, or even Prime, or putting food on the table and making the rent payment, guess which ones fall off the priority list the quickest?

Personally, I don't even watch anywhere near as much TV as I used to, at least not as of right now, and it's been that way for a number of years at this point.

But I have my own limits on streaming, in part because of what I already pay for Phone, TV, and Internet every month as it is. I may adjust that package at some point, but I have Prime. To a lesser extent I will also purchase and stream from Vudu on occasion.

I have the availability of all the ad-supported streaming platforms, such as Pluto TV and Tubi, and a multitude of others, but I still get annoyed because of the things I would like to watch, but which I hold myself back from getting access to because there's only so much I care to pay for television entertainment every month, and as I said, I barely even watch TV these days as it is. I pick a show here and there occasionally that I'll get into, and then watch very little in terms of other shows and programs. I watched the first season of the show "From" earlier in the year because it was made available on Prime for free, but to see Season 2 I would need to join MGM+, which I'll do at some point just to see what comes next in that series, but I'm in no rush, in large part because I want to limit my pay subscriptions.

So much content has also gone down the toilet, and I simply wouldn't subscribe to Disney+, no way, now how.

However, Apple TV+ looks like they may have some Sci-Fi offerings worth checking out, but I'd probably hate most of them were I to watch. I would like to see "Silo," for one, though. And this is just me. There are millions of other people out there contemplating these same kinds of choices, which is why streaming isn't going anywhere.

But it does get annoying having to figure out which show or movie is on which platform if it's something you want to watch, or buying it on one of them, only to see it disappear off the platform you're subscribed to because the license expires and that streaming platform decided not to renew and extend its availability.

So, if it turns out those trends lead to a revival of physical disc media, all the better. I'm all for it, as are most people here I can only assume. We believe in having our own library of what we like, and apparently there are still enough of us actively out there to have sustained physical media to this point rather than it having just died completely out by now because virtually everyone stopped buying titles.

We have the will, and there's still a way forward for this arm of the industry after all, hopefully.

Fingers crossed, everyone. Let's hope it all pans out as this article anticipates it might.

[Big-D]

Great article, however they didn't allude to the elephant in the corner - illegal downloading which hurts all these small distributors.

If someone isn't willing or is unprepared to shell out the cash then they're going to obtain a certain title by other means.

I personally prefer a physical copy for obvious reasons. But I know of those who amass vast collections of illegally obtained tv programs and films on mass storage devices. To some, that's their 'book shelf'.

Fortunately, it's us who are keeping the physical formats going due to its obvious merits. I've spent a LOT of money over the decades as I see it as an investment. Unfortunately, there are those who don't see it that way and hurt our much treasured physical media.

[bigshot]

I can't figure out what that article is saying. It starts out stating that physical media is dying and then it says it isn't quite dead yet. Physical media is a tiny fraction of the market and even if it doubles or triples in market share, it will still be a tiny fraction of the market.

The truth is that physical media isn't necessary to the average person who watches Marvel superhero movies and mainstream stuff. That is the vast majority of the market and streaming serves that well. Physical media is for people who like older movies, foreign films or independent films. That kind of stuff isn't streamed because it costs more to maintain it as part of a streaming library than it makes back in revenue.

I think we're eventually going to see a rise in physical media, but it will be on the secondary market with collectors paying high prices at ebay and Amazon third party for titles that aren't available on Netflix.

The dirty little secret that never gets mentioned is torrents and other file sharing platforms. For a while the studios were going after that, but no one has to go into a theater and shoot the screen with a phone any more, so it has settled into a subculture of rabid film fans and cineastes. There are some fantastic curators offering up rare movies on the sly, and film makers themselves are following and protecting them from the studios.

[kevin87]

Originally Posted by Moviefan2k4

I still think it sucks that Best Buy is ditching Blu-Ray, and something tells me that Wal-Mart won't be able to hold onto it exclusively (they did let go of music CDs, after all). But hopefully I'll be proven wrong, even though most of my Blu-Rays are bought off Amazon these days.

WM will probably just start doing new releases only... which is all my local WM does anyway. A wall of DVDs, but the only BD and 4K they have are the newest releases, after a month or so they disappear. If they even get the 4K in in the first place. It's usually if a 4K is available, they only stock the BD and if BD is the best option, they get 2 copies or none at all.

With no physical store to buy from anymore, I'll have to just order online. I will no longer buy discs from WM.

I don't think discs would fully die, I'd sooner think BD/4K will become MOD only and you'll have to buy them online like most people do anyway.

[ravenus]

Originally Posted by Cinema84

Lol at Netflix shutting down their DVD rental business because it "only" made 146 million last year. Many companies would kill for that kind of business.

That's less than the cost of producing a Scorsese movie these days. Definitely not worth it for them.

[SpartanJGE]

Originally Posted by formula_nebula

This is why I very rarely stream. I'll always choose physical over streaming.

Walmart and Amazon will hold onto physical discs for as long as they can. If major studios one day decided to stop producing discs, then that would be a major blow. All that would be left, would be the boutique labels, and they aren't showing any signs of stopping. If they are making a profit (which they are) then they will continue to strive.

I have teenage kids who are woefully unimpressed with my collection or physical media in general (one of whom is a big movie fan). I think that is definitely a view into where this is ultimately headed. In our current climate, convenience will almost always win out for those who are not enthusiasts or collectors. I'm not convinced that physical will go away completely as long as the generation that grew up with it are around. But it will surely become more niche as time goes on. I stream some, particularly with my family, but I have several titles that are not on streaming platforms, and my family has become aware of that (thanks to me ). I also find streaming convenient for travel... I think there is room for both, and I kind of wish it wasn't an either/or argument. We are fortunately at a point where it's still easy to have both.

[MattmanAlpha]

I remain of the opinion that we're just seeing a market correction back to something similar to the days of VHS, but with streaming replacing rental outlets and pay-per-view. Most stores (K-Mart, Walmart, Target, etc.) only had smaller sections of VHS tapes for sale and of mostly popular titles. If you were on the hunt for something more obscure, you had to hit a specialty shop or catalog order (Columbia House).

It wasn't until near the end that things changed and in-store selections grew. And then the industry exploded with DVD.

Plus, there was the delay from rental to the consumer market, with some movies never being available outside of that rental market. We're seeing the same thing return, with some films being released for streaming "purchase" months before a physical release.

History repeats itself.