Thin Blue Line ($39.98) + Newer series + Star power of Rowan Atkinson ------------------------- = higher expected sales levels means lower price per set
To the Manor Born ($79.98) - Older series - No major star power (for US audiences at least) ------------------------- = lower expected sales levels means higher price per set
Let's say the studio may have spent $100,000 in production costs for each set. In order to make that back, they need to sell 2500 copies of Thin Blue Line and 1250 copies of To the Manor Born. Since sales expectations are lower for To the Manor Born, they make their money back by charging a higher price for the set.
All things being equal ($19.99 per 7 eps), the To the Manor Born set should only cost $59.98. But again, with expected sales being lower, the price would have to be raised a bit ($20 in this case) in order to compensate for that.
I see what your saying, which is logical, but what about Mr.Bean, about the same size as Blue Line and even more well known, at $50. Or popular shows like Red Dwarf priced very highly.
Sorry, Mr.Bean is A&E. But compare it's pricing to the older and less known (amongst American youth) program on A&E's Benny Hill. A much better value fo 11 hour (50 min.) episodes.
Different companies have different pricing strategies. Also, more production money may have been spent on those titles, thus making the sets more expensive. Also, you have to keep in mind the extra costs of licensing those titles, since A&E didn't own them.
There could also be the issue of actors' royalty payments and any licencing/clearances that might've had to be obtained.
We in the US are getting off far cheaper than our British counterparts: To get "Manor" in the UK, you must buy it one series at a time (three series total). List price for each series is £24.99, which is equivalent to $44.54! That would be over $133 to get the whole set in Region 2!
One of the Beebs (BBC) problems has always been that as standard policy they pay very limited fees to actors and crew. As a result every actor and crew member gets a contract that gives them rights to residual fees inperpetuity every time the show is aired, remade as a tape, DVD or in any other format yet to be invented.
This even applies when the person's dead and the residual fees belong to their estate and are due to their next of kin.
Recently at a convention the Beeb guy in charge of producing their SF DVDs said they'd recently had to shelve plans to put Andromeda Breakthrough onto DVD as they couldn't agree fees with some actor's estates.
Some releases with higher costs are due to them needing to recoup the fees they've paid.
Andy, theoretically you're correct. However, although DVD prices are higher in the UK, they're not that much higher. The 'official' price of somthing - its RRP (recommended retail price) is usually way more than you'll actually pay. E.g. to get all three series of To The Manor Born would cost you about $70 if you know where to shop, and chances are that it'll become cheaper still after a while.
FWIW, both the Thin Blue Line and To The Manor Born would be seen as appealing to niche markets over here.
I'm also interested in how some sitcoms that over here are seen as being rather 'tame' and 'safe' (e.g. To The Manor Born, Keeping Up Appearances, As Time Goes By) are generally rather more accepted by American audiences, whilst what Brits would consider cutting edge comedy (The Fast Show, League of Gentlemen) have generally fared less well. I hasten to add this isn't a criticism of anyone's tastes, just a cultural observation.
Actually, my father-in-law is a big fan of the "tame" comedies that you've listed above. He's always watching those. I just saw an episode of To The Manor Born just the other day. It is pretty good, but I'm detecting a certain amount of "sameness" to a lot of these comedies. I think As Time Goes By is kinda an exception, mainly because I feel like the characters grow after a while, which is an exception to the rules of most comedy.
The "tame" comedies air on PBS, people, generally old ladies I think, no disrespect to the fans meant but they seem to have taken over the pledge drives here, pledge alot of money to keep them on the air and I suspect they are going for that audience in price. Those "cool cult" shows as it were are finding some pop here but it is going the BBCAmerica route. BBC programs on PBS used to be more diverse, but at least in my local it has gone rather soft and stagnant. I think Are You Being Served is the hippest series on PBS right now. They once showed Allo Allo, Goodnight Sweatheart, Doctor Who, Blake's 7, Tripods, Black Adder, Red Dwarf ( and a few series with the actor that played Rimmer), Father Ted, Avengers, Monty Python, Thin Blue Line, Robin of Sherwood, Fawlty Towers, AbFab, among others, some dark dramas that looked good but shown too shortly to leave a lasting impression and now it is just that shortlist above plus some show in a retirement home and other series featuring older actors. I do believe these series have their place and own appeal but I know for a fact those other series received a draw n pledges. One of my biggest gripes with PBS is how they did a Doctor Who pledge drive, got massive fan pledges and used that money and the good Doctor's timeslot for series like To The Manor Born, Keeping Up Appearances, and As Time Goes By that are not really bad, that bucket lady seems like an enduring character but only one aspect of the culture.
Anyway, I think part of this marketing stance for these prices is they think the fans of the series may be more sophisticated or wealthy and are those likely to pledge a couple hundred dollars to keep the series on TV, so this is a discount for them.