Warner Offers Cheap DVDs In China To Combat Counterfeits

from the didn't-expect-that dept

Considering the entertainment industry's standard response to unauthorized copying of content and counterfeit products, it's quite surprising to see them actually respond to the issue via pricing, rather than legal means. Usually, the industry uses its lobbying efforts or lawyers to exert pressure on those involved or (in foreign countries) to put pressure on local governments to "crack down" on the counterfeiters. However, Warner Home Video is apparently recognizing that the issue can't just be solved this way, and has realized that it's a market perception problem. Their products are simply too expensive. With that in mind, they'll be offering super cheap DVDs in China soon after the theatrical release. The movies will be priced around $2.65, which is more than the standard $1 the counterfeiters charge, but still much lower than the standard price. They're hoping that the better quality and the legitimacy will make it worthwhile. Who knows if it will work, but it's nice to see them at least recognize that price is an issue in all of this.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 25 Feb 2005 @ 7:23am

    No Subject Given

    Won't bootleggers in America just start buying these up in China and selling them here in the US for huge markups?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 25 Feb 2005 @ 7:40am

    Re: No Subject Given

    Two Words

    Region Coding

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 25 Feb 2005 @ 7:56am

    Re: No Subject Given

    Region coding is not the only way. Most likely Chinese only language track. China is a huge market that can justify a custom release.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 25 Feb 2005 @ 9:30am

    Re: No Subject Given



    As another poster said in a previous discussion:

    Price & cost are two different things.
    If the consumer is not willing to pay the price than its a bad product.
    Warner Bros LOWERING their price just means that theitrr disks were too high for the average Chinese consumer & therefore they bought the illegal alternative.

    Don't run right out & buy something right after its released ... six months later you can pick it up for 1/3 to 1/2 in many cases.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 25 Feb 2005 @ 9:55am

    Re: No Subject Given

    If the entertainment companies would sell movies (or CD's) here in America for $3, I would surely spend more than I do now and they would get more of my money every month. In the 80's, it pained me to spend $8 on an album - spending twice that amount now for a crummy 1/2 hour of songs isn't my idea of value...

    link to this | view in thread ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.