Will Kino be Paramount in finally bringing much wanted films to Blu? (1 Viewer)

[DalekFlay]

If a so-called huge geek isn’t willing to spend $5 to watch a new Star Trek series, and feels that the very act of being asked to pay for it entitles him to circumvent that process and entitles him to pirate the content - this is all over.

I’ve said before and I’ll say it again - the biggest battle that content producers face in 2019 and beyond isn’t about getting customers to change their preferences from physical to streaming media - the biggest battle is simply getting people to pay for the content they consume.

The entire entertainment ecosystem collapses when a critical mass of people decide they’re entitled to watch whatever they want without paying for it.

Yeah this is what I was getting at above. I think the concept of purchasing movies is under attack, more than just discs specifically. If you google sales information it is streaming subscriptions that put digital far ahead. Just looking at actual sales of movies discs still lead by a huge margin, but both are a minority.

I don't agree with the guy in that article, but I do think a lot of people DO agree with him. Media has become so disposable at this point that only convenience seems to get most people to pay, and that has its limits with all these new services coming. I really do think most people will subscribe to one or two services and either ignore or pirate the rest, as he implies. Not saying I agree with that, but I think it is what it is.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

https://geeks.media/the-paywall-will-be-the-death-of-streaming-as-we-know-it

This article sums it up best...

~Ben

I just woke up. This is one of the first articles I read and I am a little confused by it -- probably because I am still sipping my coffee and firing up my brain in the process.

I don't know what the article means by "paywall." I am presuming it's the price of streaming content.

Here's my take on the streaming problem...

At the end of December, I sold my stock in Netflix. It was a good run and I made some money. Netflix has done very well. The problem is, Disney is due to launch their own streaming service by this year's end. They are going to pull a lot of titles off of Netflix. Also, as the above-mentioned article has stated, Netflix has been running debt.

I bought stock in Disney anticipating their streaming service and Star Wars parks would give them a huge bump.

There are so many paid streaming services popping up. Each is stepping on one another with their own exclusive content and exclusive studio deals. Want Disney movies? You need Disney+. Want Warner classics? You need their service.

Each of these services cost an average of $10 a month. Heck, I pay $14 for 4k Netflix. Start adding all these individual services up and put that on top of your cable bill and you are paying a pretty hefty fee each month for content.

Piracy? The horse is out of the gate and running wild on that one. It's so easy to do -- most everyone is doing it -- and in a way, I understand why it's being done with movie theater prices and the costs of multiple streaming services.

Something has got to give here. These "exclusive" services continue to pop up all over the place and no matter how much consumers are forced to pick and choose which one they want, they still lose out on getting all the content they want in the end.

 

[Paul Penna]

Something has got to give here. These "exclusive" services continue to pop up all over the place and no matter how much consumers are forced to pick and choose which one they want, they still lose out on getting all the content they want in the end.

Streaming services are in the process of adopting the cable/dish business model. Tiered packages with the common junk in the lowest-price level and their exclusives, high-demand and niche offerings in the most expensive. In other words, everything you hated about cable/dish service and caused you to cut the cord. Plus now you'll have to get multiple services to get what you want, and probably wind up paying even more.

 

[DalekFlay]

Streaming services are in the process of adopting the cable/dish business model. Tiered packages with the common junk in the lowest-price level and their exclusives, high-demand and niche offerings in the most expensive. In other words, everything you hated about cable/dish service and caused you to cut the cord. Plus now you'll have to get multiple services to get what you want, and probably wind up paying even more.

Yeah, I find it sadly amusing. In my area at least cable is only $30 more than high speed internet on its own, so once you subscribe to more than two streaming services you're paying more than cable. And of course we're killing the ownership market because services will want to keep their exclusives.

It really bums me out if I think about it too long.

 

[Thomas T]

In answer to the original post, no! Kino has confirmed the deal with Paramount is over and there will be no more new Paramount titles. So much for the wish lists.

 

[RICK BOND]

That's Nice : ( ? ..I don't understand Paramount !

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Based on the fact that they've just debuted two new high-profile 4K restorations exclusively on digital media, it seems possible that Paramount is considering winding down their physical media output in favor of online distribution.

 

[DalekFlay]

Based on the fact that they've just debuted two new high-profile 4K restorations exclusively on digital media, it seems possible that Paramount is considering winding down their physical media output in favor of online distribution.

Online still sells below discs, for movie purchasing, so that would be a weird strategy at the moment. They've released a good number of catalog UHDs too. I think it's more that they only release on BD and UHD the bigger stuff they think will sell. Been that way for a while.

It's a Wonderful Life would sell, but they might be waiting for more casuals to own players and a future Christmas.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Online still sells below discs, for movie purchasing, so that would be a weird strategy at the moment.

Not necessarily. The profit margins on an all-digital release may be more favorable than a physical release that includes authoring and manufacturing costs, along with distribution costs, maintaining inventory and accepting returns for unsold merchandise.

 

[Rick Thompson]

So in the world of streaming the costs are starting to mount, with subscription to multiple services becoming necessary. And that doesn't even count the price increases ISPs will eventually charge their highest users, which streamers of blu-ray and especially UHD are going to be.

And studios would like to make disks go away while charging the same amount.

Doesn't it seem like the studios are trying to kill their golden goose?

 

[Worth]

Catalogue titles aren't exactly a golden goose.

 

[DalekFlay]

Not necessarily. The profit margins on an all-digital release may be more favorable than a physical release that includes authoring and manufacturing costs, along with distribution costs, maintaining inventory and accepting returns for unsold merchandise.

Which is why they might be selective in what comes to disc, sure, but it's not like Paramount are writing off discs. I've got a ton of Paramount UHDs that say otherwise. I just think they don't see much market for a 50's movie on the format. Hopefully they start licensing someday and a label does.

 

[RolandL]

In answer to the original post, no! Kino has confirmed the deal with Paramount is over and there will be no more new Paramount titles. So much for the wish lists.

Well, we still have Jivaro in 3D to be released in March.

 

[Robert Crawford]

So in the world of streaming the costs are starting to mount, with subscription to multiple services becoming necessary. And that doesn't even count the price increases ISPs will eventually charge their highest users, which streamers of blu-ray and especially UHD are going to be.

And studios would like to make disks go away while charging the same amount.

Doesn't it seem like the studios are trying to kill their golden goose?

That's not true that it's necessary to have costly subscriptions to multiple services to stream movies.

 

[Thomas T]

Well, we still have Jivaro in 3D to be released in March.

Yes but that title was announced quite some time ago

 

[revgen]

In answer to the original post, no! Kino has confirmed the deal with Paramount is over and there will be no more new Paramount titles. So much for the wish lists.

They may strike up a new deal with Paramount and Fox soon. Right now their plate is full with Universal, MGM, and Studio Canal titles.

 

[Ed Lachmann]

Well, I'd been praying for the Paramount deal to eventually include my two most wanted, Lady in a Cage and The Rose Tattoo, truly De Havilland and Magnani classics. Hope a new Kino deal is on the horizon.

 

[RICK BOND]

I Wish, and Hope ! …. I have many Paramount Vistavision movies on dvd that need a Bluray Upgrade ! : )

 

[raphdude]

I would buy Mommie Dearest 1981 on day one!

 

[RBailey]

I'm also hoping for another Paramount-Kino deal. Would love to see more of their Republic restorations get a Blu-ray release.
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