Showtime, Paramount and Fox have done it... now it's time for HBO to do it (1 Viewer)

okay, Showtime finally decided $109.99 for QAF seasons were too much (although season 5 will still be released at that price point, but it'll eventually be dropped in price). Fox first decided $149.99 was too high for X-Files sets, then dropped it to $99.99 and then they realized that was too high too, so now they're coming out at $49.99. And even the ever-elusive Paramount finally realized that $69.99 is a far more attractive price than $139.99 for the Trek seasons.

So I think now it's time for HBO to start the ball rolling and drop the price on shows like Sopranos, Six Feet Under and Carnivale, with Sopranos and Six Feet, the first season or two of those have been out for ages and copies are probably collecting dust at this point for around $80 even when on sale cheap. I like Six Feet Under and would like to have it on DVD someday, but not for $80-100 a season, it's good but not THAT good considering they aren't even complete seasons, but basically what most networks would consider half-seasons.

Anyone else with me?

If HBO ever does lower their prices, you can bet it won't be until after The Sopranos: Season Six DVD comes out at the end of the year.

I suppose the rabid collectors of X-Files and Star Trek bought the sets at $100 a pop, and now they're trying to get people who would not buy at that price to buy these sets.

Most definitely. Price point has been a big issue with me specifically for HBO product, end result being that I don't have much of it apart from the "Sex & The City" sets, which I could generally find for under $30 each.

Price has also been an issue with "X-Files" and Trek, so I'm glad to see some of those prices are now coming down. I might just buy some more sets if they don't cost me double what anything else does. There's too much stuff out there that I want for me not to be a little choosy about what to buy, and cost is definitely a factor, sometimes the deciding factor.

That said, there are a few things I'd pay a little more for just to get them done right. I won't buy further seasons of either "Northern Exposure" or "Quantum Leap," both shows that were in my Top 10 Most Wanted, after Universal replaced music in season 2 of both series. I would've paid an extra $10 to have the music correct.

they could just progressively lower the prices like Showtime's been doing with Queer As Folk (which season 5 will be out shortly with a high price tag). Maybe lower the price of Sopranos and Six Feet Under season 1, then a few months later, lower season 2, and so forth.....

HBO isn't even that good anymore, besides Curb, which likely ended at the end of season 5 (the s5 finale really was a fitting series finale in case HBO doesn't renew), all the shows I actually watched are now gone. They aren't quite the hot commodity they were in 2001. Once the Sopranos leaves, HBO will pretty much be dead IMO.

The only reason that they won't lower the prices until after the new Sopranos set is because a new release always spikes the sales of the older sets. They won't lower the price when they know that an increase in sales is coming at their $100 MSRP. When/if they lower the price, it'll be after the series ends and is just sitting on the shelf with nothing new to release. That way they'll cash in on as many people as they could at the $100 price tag and also get the people who don't want to pay the higher price.

And if you haven't seen Deadwood, check it out. With the end of Six Feet Under and with The Sopranos ending its run, it'll be HBO's new dramatic flagship.

westerns are not my thing, so I haven't had any urge to watch Deadwood, it was a shame Carnivale didn't find it's audience

Once X Files comes down at the end of the month, I'm starting to get them. I'll be picking up QaF tonight. The minute HBO starts dropping their prices to be more affordable, then I'll jump on their bandwagon.

The Sopranos are ridiculous. I bought S1 for a "reasonable" rpice waaaayy back (it might have been my first tv on dvd set) and the only reason did ok with it was because I bought it from Amazon Canada, but I have since refused to by anymore at such prices for 13 episodes of a show when I can buy 22+ episodes of other shows for half the price.

that is precisely why I find these sets so insanely priced, HBO doesn't do 22-25 episode seasons like the networks do yet 13 episodes of one of their shows goes for $40-50 more than 22 episodes of a network series. That is BULL!!! I really did like Six Feet Under and if HBO ever drops the prices, I'll definately pick them up if they retail around $49.99 a season, but $99.99 is not worth it because while I like the show, it's not a show that I absolutely must have on DVD or else. Even though they were a little high-end too, I didn't mind getting the Sex And The City sets, because for me, $49.99 and easily found for $30 isn't quite as insane to part with as $75 at the lowest.

The Sopranos Seasons 1-3 will permanently reduced to $59.99 SRP, effective February 28th. You heard it from TVShowsOnDVD first!

Wow! Jay, you got your wish on half the series anyway. (And boy was I wrong. ) I guess they're dropping the prices to promote the new season. Either way, I'm shocked that they aren't waiting to change the price until at least when the S6 DVD comes out.

Maybe they'll drop the price on S4 and S5 when S6 comes out?

David, any word on Six Feet Under?

No, just Sopranos. No other HBO shows were mentioned.

Wow, maybe if we're lucky, we get to pay $45 for 13 episodes. Seriously I'm done with HBO. I can wait. If it's 2010 before they sell the sets for well under $50, then so be it. If they never drop below a still hefty $60 retail price, then oh well.

$45 for a 4-DVD set is about $11.75 per disc. Each set is 680 minutes, which averages to 170 minutes per disc.

I betcha you pay more than $11.75 for a single-disc movie DVD release that runs a lot less than 170 minutes!

I see folks getting 90-minute films with few extras for $14.99 all the time and being glad to get that little for that much...Sopranos sets at $45 isn't a bad deal at all.

I can see it now...after the new DVD format(s) catch on, we'll be walking into the Dollar Store and seeing those "old-fashioned" DVDs for a buck! (And talking about it in the "Coupons/Deals" forum!)

I think some people object to the $59.99 price tag because you can get 22 episode seasons (compared to HBO's 12-13 episode seasons) of shows like Buffy, Angel, Smallville and the sort, generally loaded with extras, for the same price. At least with the Sex And The City DVD's, HBO has never been that great with extras, the long awaited "deleted scenes" were very underwhelming as well.

Personally, I think it's a step in the right direction, $59.99 is reasonable because you'll be able to find it in the vicinity of $39.99-49.99 without much a problem, which is about the area I thought dropping them down would be much more reasonable.

Three months of subscribing to HBO just see a season of The Sopranos will cost at least $40. Now for any of the first three seasons of The Sopranos, you'll pay $40 or $50 and get to own the episodes.

You can watch a full season of a network show for nothing (if you use an antenna) and they charge you anywhere from $30 to $50 to own the episodes.

Even at it's usual $70 or $80 price HBO doesn't have a price increase that network stuff has.

well, about that, you'd figure HBO would actually go out of it's way to make it cheaper since the fans have paid money to own the channel to see their shows, instead they're just gouging even more money out of them from people who already paid to watch the show in first-run.

Showtime dropping the price of QAF to $39.99 was very reasonable because they realize most fans who watched the show and held off getting it for $100 are people who already subscribed to Showtime. Most people I know who bought the QAF sets at $100 were people who were curious but never subscribed, now people who watched it on Showtime are picking the sets up at $40 a pop.