AT&T, HBO Put Another Bullet In Antiquated Theatrical Release Windows
from the inevitability dept
Among the dated and dumb business concepts exposed as folly during the pandemic is the traditional Hollywood film release window, which typically involves a 90 day gap between the time a move appears in theaters and its streaming or DVD release (in France this window is even more ridiculous at three years). The goal is usually to "protect the traditional film industry," though it's never been entirely clear why you'd protect traditional theaters at the cost of common sense, consumer demand, and a more efficient model. Just because?
While the industry has flirted with the idea of "day and date" releases for decades (releasing movies on home video at the same time as brick and mortar theaters), there's long been a lot of hyperventilation on the part of movie theaters and traditionalists that this sort of shift wasn't technically possible or would somehow destroy the traditional "movie experience," driving theaters out of business.
The pandemic has changed everything. To the point where AT&T/HBO this week announced that the company's entire lineup of 2021 films will be released on the company's streaming platform (HBO Max) the same time it hits theaters. There are some caveats: it's a one year trial, and movies will only appear on HBO Max for a month before they disappear (though they may return later). You'll also probably pay far more to watch these movies than it's worth. But it's still a sensible shift given the circumstances, as Warner Brothers (AT&T) made clear it a statement:
“We’re living in unprecedented times which call for creative solutions, including this new initiative for the Warner Bros. Pictures Group,” said Warner Bros. CEO Ann Sarnoff. “No one wants films back on the big screen more than we do. We know new content is the lifeblood of theatrical exhibition, but we have to balance this with the reality that most theaters in the U.S. will likely operate at reduced capacity throughout 2021.”
Yes, it sucks for those whose livelihoods rely on traditional brick and mortar theaters. But these are the same theaters that saw the writing on this particular wall long before COVID came to town, and decided to spend much of their time pouting instead of adapting for the inevitable. Even then, traditional theaters will someday bounce back, buoyed by those who feel a trip out to the movies is an essential cornerstone of everyday life. It's just not going to be until vaccines are commonplace and congregating indoors for prolonged periods is no longer a potential death sentence.
This isn't exclusively about the pandemic, of course. AT&T has been losing traditional TV and streaming subscribers hand over fist after a bunch of expensive mergers, branding confusing, and other executive incompetence. They're running behind giants like Netflix and others, and want the added attention. Scuttlebutt also suggests the company is hoping to use the announcement to pressure Roku into carrying HBO Max and ending their longstanding feud:
The speculation I've heard is that @warnerbros really wants to get its movies onto @hbomax in part to put pressure on @Roku to cut a deal https://t.co/O7gsX5YMgx
— Todd Spangler (@xpangler) December 3, 2020
Either way, it's another step in the right direction toward no longer embracing antiquated concepts like release windows that no longer make sense in the broadband era. This being AT&T there's almost certainly going to be dumb caveats tied to these releases (ridiculous pricing probably being among them), but baby steps and all that.
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Filed Under: day and date, hbo max, hollywood, movie theaters, release windows, streaming
Companies: at&t, hbo
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Was inevitable
This was going to happen sooner or later, even without COVID-19 as an excuse.
It doesn't mean that any of the movies will be any more likely to be worth watching. It just means that it will be more convenient to stay home and be disappointed by the movie in the comfort of your own home.
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Apart from the 'for a maximum of a month' bit, as the Internet is not a limited means of reaching people like the cinemas are. They are giving pirates an excuse to pirate new releases to keep them available.
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Kind of surprised to be honest, as a staggered Cinema, home video (while it's still a thing)/Digital download then streaming format gave them the potential to triple dip and get people to pay multiple times for a movie they like. Guess they either did the math and realised they can cut out countless middlemen this way and make as much money, or just said 'Hug it, we really, really need our streaming service to take off' and threw everything in.
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Re:
it's a toe in the water type of thing.. Less to lose while theatres are empty, no commitments for when they pick up again
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"movies will only appear on HBO Max for a month before they disappear"
what purpose could this possibly serve other than being a nuisance?
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Re:
Encouragement for pirates to take over the distribution of the films.
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Re: Re:
Only the Arr rated ones.
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Re:
Pushes people to watch with some FOMO so they can report the rosiest numbers. Also, no waiting a few months and subscribing for a single unit to watch several new releases.
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Re: Re:
Ahh I didn't think of the second point, that at least is potentially a legitimate reason I think, although I'm not sure they aren't just going to trade those single unit subscribers for 0 unit subscribers.
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Re: Was inevitable
It may have been inevitable, but we don't have to be hard hearted toward the buggy-whip makers. The guys who braided the leather for the whips can be retrained to wrap steering wheels in leather, or even weld fenders if they are industrious and willing to learn.
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"You'll also probably pay far more to watch these movies than it's worth."
Saw that Disney wanted $30 for the privilege of watching a certain new movie to be streamed. No way in the world I'm paying a monthly subscription charge to access Disney and then follow that by another $30. They can keep their silo.
In case they haven't heard, tons of folk are out of job with this virus loose. They are worried about keeping utilities on, meeting rent, and food in the house.
When they figure out that people are dropping their services for the same reason maybe they'll get their prices back down to reasonable or follow the way of the dinosaur. Right now, don't really care which they do.
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Why
It has been this way before, therefore the way it has been must be preserved. Or, the problem of concentrated versus dilute benefit/harm. Movie theater chains have an intense interest in protecting their business model and can concentrate money and influence toward that goal. There is no one on the other side of the issue trying to make movies better for the public.
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Nice freebees
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Re: Why
It's not just the movie theater chains that are threatened by the new model, the movie and tv studios are fighting a losing battle against new competition. They have control over theaters that they can use to pretend netflix and amazon are not direct competition or competition on the same level.
This sort of thing happens because the people who benefit from the traditional model and stand to lose from the new model are more powerful or more willing to bribe the government to get their way than the people who benefit from the new model.
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Re: Nice freebees
HBO Max costs $15 per month, so if you want to watch a movie, sign up for one month for the movie that you want to see, then cancel. Between the price of a ticket, plus concessions, its easily $15 right there where I live. Except now you get the whole rest of the month of HBO Max. Add in family members or friends to save even more on average. It seems like a lot of value.
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Re: Re: Why
It's not just Netflix and Amazon, but among Zoomers and even younger children like Generation Alpha, TikTok, Twitch (owned by Amazon) and YouTube (owned by Google) is where they see their new favorites. Disney, Comcast, AT&T, and Netflix have even more competition if you consider that there are infinitely more people making infinitely more content and they don't even need gatekeepers anymore.
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Re: Re: Nice freebees
It does seem like it should be a good deal.. I was thinking about doing this before to watch game of thrones on HBO since I hadn't seen it.. the trouble ends up being that since I already have netflix and I have a queue of stuff I want to watch on there but don't even have the time to watch it all, there really doesn't seem to be any point to spend the money (20-40$ I guess) to binge game of thrones..
If anything the way I might choose to handle it is to rotate through picking a different service each month to sign up for.. except the admin is too much of a pain so I just leave it with one since I always seem to be behind on things I want to watch anyway
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Re: Re: Re:
And if you want to listen to any of the ones with other ratings, it'll only cost you a buck-an-ear.
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Re: Re: Was inevitable
I can be hard-hearted toward companies trying to maintain a monopoly position with their overpriced and unsatisfactory experiences.
Others who have innovated in the space will likely continue to do fine if more people stop engaging in crashing our world by refusing to act safely during a pandemic.
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Regions that don't have access to HBO Max won't notice any changes on this front. That's something which often gets overlooked in the discourse about this.
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