"Deluxe" and "theme sets" (formerly: Sex And The City: HBO's cash cow?)

Ben King · 11-10-2005, 08:56 AM

I see that in addition to bringing out a premium collector's complete series box set, HBO are also releasing themed packs containing various episodes of the show: Lust, Romance, Break-Ups and Mr. Big.

Surely HBO are just having a laugh now?

Sean Laughter · 11-10-2005, 09:49 AM

Well, with SaTC, and to a lesser extent Six Feet Under both being off the air (I never watched the Sopranos and don't follow it so I don't know its status), HBO has yet to have another major drama/comedy break-out like those "classic" series did at the time. Breakout in that it presents massive appeal to a very large audience and steals network viewership rather reliably. Then again, I haven't been watching much TV lately, so maybe they do and I'm just behind the curve.

However, if it's true, then they obviously need to keep HBO TV property on the shelf in different forms to keep their brand in the public eye until the next hit show comes along.

Gord Lacey · 11-10-2005, 11:13 AM

You'll see more of these as shows wrap up on DVD. They want to continue to make money off properties that have done well, and these themed collections are a good way to do it. They're not targeting the fan that bought the season sets, just the casual fan.

Gord

Ethan Riley · 11-10-2005, 11:26 AM

Gord's words echo the post-season 7 fate of Buffy. Buffy's doing the exact same thing as Sex and the city. I don't have a problem with these extra releases; if the studio's want to make more money off these properties, I hope they make every nickel they can. I already have the season sets, so I won't be buying them again, though; at least not until the next format.

TravisR · 11-10-2005, 11:31 AM

It's also the same thing as The X-Files mythology sets.

**HTF Ads**

Jay_B! · 11-10-2005, 02:15 PM

any word if there'll be a deluxe Six Feet Under set? I might contemplate one for $200 or so, the seasons were just too expensive for me, but an entire set would be worth having IMO.

TravisR · 11-10-2005, 03:25 PM

Since the Sex And The City set was $300 MSRP and each SFU is $100 MSRP, I doubt you'd see a SFU series box discounted for less $400.

Michael Reuben · 11-10-2005, 03:30 PM

Since the thread is about more than just SatC, I've edited the title.

M.

Ethan Riley · 11-10-2005, 04:05 PM

Well I don't think $400 for a 6FU set is very economical. It'd have to be around $200 for it to sell at all. Sex and Buffy series sets seem to be nicely discounted, compared to the individual releases. No reason to think that a series set of 6FU would cost the same as its individual releases. I expect Sopranos to get a series set one of these fine days. Probably add to that the Brady Bunch once its done, and lots of other shows. This doesn't bother me; I've always thought the Sopranos was a gyp...if they can sell a series set of that, which ends up being much cheaper than the individual seasons, I'd consider buying it.

TravisR · 11-10-2005, 05:14 PM

Quote:

It'd have to be around $200 for it to sell at all.

I completely agree but I don't think HBO will make a SFU set only due to the price. The MSRPs for Sex And The City (as single sets) total up to $340. They sold that series set for $300 MSRP. The total for the single releases of SFU will be $500 (once Season Five comes out) and I can't see them discounting that price by $200 or more just to sell it as a set.

Never say never though...

Jay_B! · 11-10-2005, 09:21 PM

Quote:

I completely agree but I don't think HBO will make a SFU set only due to the price. The MSRPs for Sex And The City (as single sets) total up to $340. They sold that series set for $300 MSRP. The total for the single releases of SFU will be $500 (once Season Five comes out) and I can't see them discounting that price by $200 or more just to sell it as a set.

Fox priced the Buffy collection at literally half what it'd cost to buy seasons 1-7 at list price, why wouldn't HBO do the same for SFU, which ran not even half as many episodes. And even though S&TC retailed for $299.99, places like Best Buy marked it regularly priced at $199.99, while on sale even cheaper. Considering Six Feet Under had 12-13 episode seasons, $200-300 for all 63 episodes is hardly asking for them to give it to us for next to nothing.

Six Feet Under seems to top a LOT of people's "I'd buy it if it was cheaper" lists. Showtime realized the same thing applied with Queer As Folk and they've been slowly dropping the prices of the season sets that were once $100. Even Fox is dropping the X-Files sets that once retailed for $149.99 to $49.99.