AOTC TV rights (1 Viewer)

[Jo_C]

As some of you might have read elsewhere on the net, the cable TV rights to "Star Wars: Episode II" are up for grabs. But with the announcement of the home video release, those rights are diminishing.

At this point, the network with the best shot at the pay cable rights would be Starz/Encore. They came through at the last minute with the rights to "Jurassic Park III". But don't be surprised if a broadcast network moves in, in this case AOTC would bypass cable, which nowadays is not common, with Disney animated movies going straight from pay per view to broadcast networks.

 

[Jason Seaver]

That's what happened last time, too - TPM aired on Fox without stopping for pay-cable.

 

[Matthew Chmiel]

At this point, the network with the best shot at the pay cable rights would be Starz/Encore. They came through at the last minute with the rights to "Jurassic Park III".

Jurassic Park III was only on Starz/Encore cause Universal has a deal with Starz/Encore.
I'm sure AOTC will be shown on FOX just like TPM and the Special Editions of The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi.

 

[Wayne Bundrick]

New Line also has a deal with Starz/Encore. It's a given that Lord of the Rings will be on Starz. In fact, twice in the past few months I've received calls from a DirecTV telemarketer asking me to sign up for Starz and in their sales pitch they drop names of the movies that are exclusively on Starz, including Lord of the Rings.

It's ironic that New Line is owned by AOL/Time Warner which also owns HBO and Cinemax. You'd think AOL/TW would rather have New Line's films on their own channels, following the industry trend of film/TV and production/network incest. Either Starz got a long long long term contract with New Line back before Time Warner acquired New Line, or Starz is paying enough money to AOL/TW to make it worth it.

I think Miramax also has a deal with Starz.

I expect AOTC will end up on Fox, unless another network makes the mistake of outbidding Fox.

 

[Matthew Chmiel]

Starz/Encore:
- Hollywood Pictures / Touchstone Pictures.
- New Line. They made a deal with the channel prior to Time Warner buying them. Funny thing: Boogie Nights was shown on HBO and not Starz/Encore.
- Miramax. Funny thing: Dimension Films are shown on Showtime/The Movie Channel.
- Universal.
HBO:
- DreamWorks SKG.
- Warner Brothers.
- 20th Century Fox.
Showtime/The Movie Channel:
- Columbia / Tri-Star / Screen Gems / Sony Pictures Classic.
- Dimension Films.
- Paramount / Paramount Classics.
I don't know who MGM is with, Showtime maybe?
Prior to 2000 (IIRC), Columbia/Tri-Star/etc. used to show their movies on HBO.
Prior to either 1998 or 1999 (IIRC), Columbia/Tri-Star/etc. used to show their movies on HBO. Then Viacom bought Showtime...
Since Lucasfilm controls everything dealt with AOTC (all FOX does is put the film out), I'm sure Lucasfilm will just show the film on FOX, skipping both PPV and the pay movie channels.

 

[Chad R]

I don't understand this. Every film follows the same model, even TPM which premiered on VHS (and I think even DVD) before its broadcast premiere on FOX.

It all depends on what Lucasfilm/Fox is asking for the pay TV rights. It it's more than any network wants to pay, it'll go to network.

 

[Matthew Chmiel]

Every film follows the same model

Not really. Some films get fucked over and end up going to television than video (Cherry Falls and Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th come to mind) or some films just go backwards in the process (like that Van Damme film that went to television, then theaters, then video or something like that).

 

[Chad R]

Yeah, but a film that premieres in theaters goes to video before TV, therefore I don't understand how its video release will have any bearing on whether it goes Pay TV or network first. The only thing that matters is how much the producers are asking and if any Pay TV service will bite.

 

[Wayne Bundrick]

Consider that a very popular movie is going to be scarfed up quickly by the public as soon as it becomes available. If everyone has already rented the VHS from Blockbuster or bought the DVD at Best Buy, there's nobody left to watch it on PPV. The PPV channels have to guess how much money they think they can make on it and that will determine how much they are willing to pay for the rights, if at all.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

I believe part of Fox's deal with Lucasfilm is first showing rights on the Fox network.

I believe that in 1996 they turned over the copyright to the first Star Wars to Lucasfilm in exchange for eternal distribution rights on all existing and future SW film/video properties. Had they not done that, Episode 1 and 2 would likely have sported the Dreamworks logo