The Official Network Thread

[lemonski]

Originally Posted by GlacierTuba

https://find-and-update.company-info...mpany/01476436

The most recent accounts are here:

https://find-and-update.company-info...pdf&download=0

Maybe my financial skills aren't up to much, but that doesn't read like a company in liquidation - their total assets less liabilities are £4.2 million. Maybe one of their debtors went bust themselves and are unable to pay, leaving Network with an insurmountable hole in their balance sheet.

[Professor Echo]

Between yesterday and today I've seen prices increase on several Network titles I had saved at Amazon and eBay. Also notices of "Low Stock" are popping up.

I've got about seven titles I want from the label, most of them TV shows, so the question is do I panic buy now like some apparently are and get what I want or wait it out and see if stock starts popping up at maybe more reasonable rates in the near future? I've missed out on Network titles before and they went OOP so it isn't too far fetched to think some things may not still be around in any liquidation sale. Decisions, decisions....

[Cherry Valance]

checked a local seller last night after hearing the news and popped 'the league of gentlemen' and 'who killed teddy bear?' in my cart, checked again this morning and the copies they had of 'teddy bear' had been snapped up. bit the bullet and just bought 'gentlemen'. even down here they're going!

[Hammerlover]

A shame we won't see those Hammer titles now. R.I.P. Network.

[The Screaming Feces]

This is sad and total bollocks!

I have supported Network ever since I went region free a few years ago, finally acquiring most of their awesome ITC catalogue of spy/adventure series on Blu-ray. They shipped quickly and the shipping rates to Canada were often much better than ordering from American labels. I managed to snag a few things I hadn't gotten yet, like Man in a Suitcase, The Zoo Gang, and the Cybernauts Trilogy on Blu-ray from sellers on Amazon for reasonable prices, but I doubt I'll be able to pick up the likes of Gideon's Way on Blu-ray or Jason King, Return of the Saint, and The Saint sets on DVD (at least I can pick up Shout!'s The Saint DVD set). Scalper prices have already set in on the secondary market.

Many thanks to Network for taking care of so many classic British TV shows and films. I really hope another label can pick up the pieces.

[fatboyslim142]

Originally Posted by fatboyslim142

Thanks. I still need to get the first 5 volumes of Man in a Suitcase, as well among other things, to complete my set as I already have the deluxe edition of the last volume.

Finally ordered them from a mix of Amazon & fleabay. Kind of regret not getting the first 5 volumes when they were last on sale a month or two ago.

[dublinbluray108]

There were a lot of "Low Stock" notices popping up on Network titles via the Rarewaves website yesterday which was not surprising IMO.

I hope Network will release their official statement soon as to what they are going to do with the rest of their stock in the near future. If they go down the road of a mega firesale of all their stock at that point. That would provide some level of comfort to any of us who still have a huge list of stuff to buy who may want to get it on the cheap.

But if it comes to that moment we do have to be quick about it if it becomes official for the next little while. Otherwise there will be disappointment if people don't get that message soon enough.

[Professor Echo]

Originally Posted by dublinbluray108

There were a lot of "Low Stock" notices popping up on Network titles via the Rarewaves website yesterday which was not surprising IMO.

All 5 Network titles I had saved in my cart at Rarewaves from Wednesday were sold out by Thursday. I hesitated to go for it because the tab was pretty high and so I missed out, but to hell with it. I stripped down my want list to two titles and picked them both up at Amazon tonight before they too rise in price or sell out. I prioritized the ones I truly wanted and will wait on the rest to see what happens. If it winds up that I overpaid for these two I got today, well, maybe I'll regret it for a minute or two, then drink a cup of coffee and file it all under who gives a s---.

[oddbox83]

I've spent just over 200 on 4 DVD & Blu-ray box sets I hadn't picked up yet but really didn't want to miss. But yeah, who gives a S---. Wasn't exactly overpaying, just paying the normal price at Rarewaves which beat the competition on Wednesday. That's if I get them... now showing sold out at Rarewaves, but I hope their stock system has allocated mine to me...

Those I'm unsure about, those that were just Blu-ray upgrades, and those I've no doubt forgotten about for the moment can wait.

The fact I could peruse their more recent sales and find very little of interest does put my mind at ease that I've got pretty much everything I want from their catalogue, and supported the label along the way.

The biggest worry if they don't find a buyer to run the business as a continuing interest, what on earth will happen to all their master assets? I hope their restorations are also held by rights holders, and what about their own unique extras??? I hope someone like the BFI could archive them. I mean, it's entirely possible some administrator winding down the company would just wipe hard drives and flog them as parts....

[CouncilSpectre]

I blame THE SWEENEY.

After all these years of waiting, and all those recent optimistic teasing tweets.

They tested the patience of the blu-ray Gods and got smited for their sin….

I’m gutted that we appeared so close to finally getting THE SWEENEY, and it actually gave me hope that one day we might finally get MINDER. All hope gone now, I just don’t see who else carries on from Network’s excellent work.

Unless we get another Tim Beddows come along to pick up the mantle then I think we’re screwed on the retro British TV and movie front, bar what comes from Studio Canal.

[The Hornets]

Originally Posted by lemonski

Maybe my financial skills aren't up to much, but that doesn't read like a company in liquidation - their total assets less liabilities are £4.2 million. Maybe one of their debtors went bust themselves and are unable to pay, leaving Network with an insurmountable hole in their balance sheet.

It is not as clear as that as many of the assets won't be immediately accessible so as a company you can have cashflow issues as they aren't cash even is assets > liabilities look healthy.

That's why you need bank facilities to borrow extra money or the pockets of the owners to have cash available to smooth out any bumps when payments are due but cash not readily available.

I believe the assets fall into two categories
- Stock on hand in the warehouse which hasn't been sold on to retailers. This would have an assumed value (probably less than the price available for sale on their website) but to liquidise for cash quickly they would have to cut prices dramatically to clear for a quick sale, so the cash value is less than the book value.
- Value of their licencing contracts with ITV, Freemantle, Studio Canal etc. These are hard to value and again not immediately convertible into cash as would be runoff over many years as Network release new titles and continue to sell existing ones under these deals.

[oddbox83]

If another with label with deep pockets wants to buy them out and merge, that'd be great.

Likelihood? Hmm, not great. We can only assume all other indie labels are going to have limited cashflow to make such bids and their value is likewise in assets.

Best case scenario, Network's in-print catalogue was vast, and I very much doubt anyone would take that on, and let all but the big hitters go OOP regardless.

A rosier outlook might be if it's split and sold that way? Their Hammer interest as one, their DVD/Blu-ray arm as another, etc. It'll also depend on exactly what their licensee terms were too, I mean it's entirely possible isn't it that someone else buying the company wouldn't be granted automatic rolling rights to the ITV, Studiocanal and Fremantle archives?

This stuff can get very messy - look at AudioGo. The BBC (via reverted rights I presume as per 2 Entertain) and Penguin took on a lot of that after it's collapse, but stuff that was recorded but not released remains a decade later in rights limbo.

[DavidRoylance]

You are correct. I think something like what you suggest has happened.

It is clear with The Baron release being dated 12th June that they were not expecting this to happen.

Originally Posted by lemonski

Maybe my financial skills aren't up to much, but that doesn't read like a company in liquidation - their total assets less liabilities are £4.2 million. Maybe one of their debtors went bust themselves and are unable to pay, leaving Network with an insurmountable hole in their balance sheet.

[Modman]

Originally Posted by oddbox83

A rosier outlook might be if it's split and sold that way? Their Hammer interest as one, their DVD/Blu-ray arm as another, etc. It'll also depend on exactly what their licensee terms were too, I mean it's entirely possible isn't it that someone else buying the company wouldn't be granted automatic rolling rights to the ITV, Studiocanal and Fremantle archives?

Interestingly, the current Directors of Network are also the Directors of a number of Hammer companies.

[The Hornets]

Originally Posted by Modman

Interestingly, the current Directors of Network are also the Directors of a number of Hammer companies.

That's because last year Network bought one of the Hammer companies which gave them some UK rights. So I presume some of the people behind that business joined the Board.

Hammer rights are a nightmare though as spread across multiple companies as back in the day they did distribution deals with multiple companies hence titles coming from many studios and independent labels as licencees.

Think Network's rights and where they were going to focus was on early stuff that hasn't made it to UK BD yet like the first two black & white Quatermass films.

[lemonski]

Originally Posted by The Hornets

I believe the assets fall into two categories
- Stock on hand in the warehouse which hasn't been sold on to retailers. This would have an assumed value (probably less than the price available for sale on their website) but to liquidise for cash quickly they would have to cut prices dramatically to clear for a quick sale, so the cash value is less than the book value.

In this case the value of the stock is irrelevant. It’s valued at nearly £3 million on the books - but even if it was valued at £0 the simple fact is they had debtors of ~£4 million and creditors of ~£3.5 million, so they were clearly solvent. Quite how they let debtors get out as far as 4 million quid seems somewhat lax, but neither creditors nor debtors have varied much since their last return so it may just be the normal operation of their business. Also note that the £3.5 million they owe isn’t due for up to 12 months (and was roughly the same magnitude last year) so it doesn’t seem to me to be an issue with managing cashflow. My wild guess is that one of their debtors went bust owing them big money, the directors didn’t want to/didn’t have the funds to cover it, and finance from a commercial bank couldn’t be arranged.

Looking at those returns it just doesn’t strike me as a company that was in any obvious financial difficulty



* I am not an accountant. I could be completely wrong

[darrellmaclaine]

FWIW the above is what I understood too. Possible it's a retailer having their own troubles.

[DaniRyder23]

I've been watching the various stock disappearing from various retailers - I don't know if they could/would just sell the remaining stock to said retailers for an upfront fee, I don't know enough about retail to know if that's possible - but it's made me think that a lot of people are obviously willing to buy these titles right now, even at RRP (or sometimes more) because they know/fear that they'll go OOP pretty soon...

It's not just scalpers either. I would understand that scalpers account for some of the depleting *new* stock, but even CeX and secondhand copies (eBay and Amazon) are drying up right now, so clearly there are plenty of collectors and fans who are grabbing even the used copies just to ensure they get them at a fair price before the market (potentially) goes crazy on used prices...

So my thinking is, whilst I understand why this would have been kept quiet - including from the staff at the company - what if they *had* let us know 3 to 6 months ago? It seems that if everyone who was buying up the stock right now did this sooner, it may have provided them the extra cash needed to get on top of whatever the issue was, before it came to a head. Not only would we all have had enough warning to grab whatever we still wanted to get, but it may have also prompted more people to get out of the "I'll wait for the next sale" mindset (which absolutely applies to myself)

I say this because I'm thinking of other smaller labels. The one that springs to mind first is Indicator - if this were to ever happen to them, and they could announce it soon enough, I would think that many of us would rather rush their site and buy all the stuff from them directly than wait till after it's too late, to then be buying it all from other retailers...

I don't know, I still think it's strange that we haven't heard anything concrete yet - at least not from the label themselves - but it's got me worrying/wondering about the other labels we love. Obviously we all only have so much money, and I think it's interesting to compare whether it's better to wait for the sales and spread our money around more labels, or concentrate them on certain labels (had we all been buying everything from Network at RRP, would many of us still have enough funds left to support Indicator, for example? Perhaps it is better to support more labels during their sale periods than less labels at retail prices?)

I guess it comes down to supply and demand, maybe the future of physical media is more of a crowdfunding model, or a made-to-order system? Maybe the labels should look into making deals with streaming services that benefit both? I mean I subscribe to ITVX Premium (inc. BritBox), but streaming will never replace physical for me. I already own The Prisoner on the old DVD and the more recent BD, but I watch it on ITVX because it's more convenient than putting the disc in - I have the discs for the bonus features, and insurance for if they're taking off streaming, or if that streaming service flounders...I like having the option for both.

I would like to see a future where both streaming and physical can co-exist easier...in the case of Network, who had a lot of crossover with ITVX/BritBox, maybe that could have taken the form of some intercompany arrangements - every time you buy something from Network, you get a 20% discount on a month of ITVX, or having an active subscription to ITVX grants you a 10% discount on Network titles (not applicable during sales). Sure, Network would have lost a little profit, but it's extra incentive for people to buy the discs in the first place. Maybe if ITVX had sent out emails promoting the physical copies, it would have helped sales - and vice versa, if Network had promoted the streaming service, maybe with a referral code of some sort. Ultimately it would have impacted both, but possibly also helped each other

No-one was ever going to convert physical-only or streaming-only loyalists...but if you're a fan of The Prisoner, regardless of whether you're watching it on disc or streaming, there's a higher chance that you might want either the extra features and insurance of the disc, or the extra convenience of the streaming option, I don't think it has to be either/or...

Anyway, I'm just thinking out loud...I'm sure that having a lot of these older shows available to stream must've impacted sales to some extent, but streaming would have also given them a platform to bring in new fans who may have never looked twice at the physical releases otherwise. I know I wouldn't have gotten a chance to see The Avengers before I got BritBox (and I'm a huge fan of ITVX anyway, as I much prefer the business model to the forced TV License BBC OnDemand one). I even used it to watch a couple episodes of The Persuaders before I decided to buy the box set last year...streaming and physical formats can work great together, but I think the future of labels like Network, or Indicator, may rely on some kind of deals with the streaming services that have the rights to those same films. A simple ad at the beginning of a film, or on the film's page on the app, showing people where they can buy the physical release if they enjoy it...could make a huge difference?

[ukpaul]

....and this (I tell those who question it) is why I have a massive watch pile!

Seriously, I have Network releases easily in the hundreds on my shelves (or in boxes). from archive TV to British film to whatever. Maybe about two thirds watched and, most of those, probably never likely to see a physical release again.

For all those years of buying and watching, heartfelt gratitude to those who brought Network to life. I can't imagine what its employees will now be going through.

Even given the above, I gave my credit card a big workout over the last couple of days, filling in any gaps, hastily completing new interests. I hope that, doing it this way, it means the money, at least, goes to the company, and any debts, as opposed to someone getting the stock at knockdown prices.

Only one I missed and it's already gnawing at me, Tales of Unease, just gone everywhere. A series containing an episode that I couldn't place for ages (discotheque, motorbike, you might know the one). Now I'll have to wait longer to see the rest. I did pick up the last 'Look at Life' though, having baulked at the price and waited for a now, never to exist, sale. Having the first seven volumes, I couldn't leave that unfinished.

For people who like 'things in hands' as opposed to renting a stream of data, these are sad times.

[Rayjg]

It really is tragic. They found a niche that no other label really covered. Kino might release a few more but they're probably it. Having said that, new labels keep popping up all the time so who knows what might rise from the ashes of Network.