I was reading over a pitch tonight for a new streaming movie service called Epix HD, when I looked up from my computer to my TV stand. On it, I saw an Apple TV, an Xbox 360, and a cable box. Right there, that is 3 different ways to get streaming movies to my television. And that’s not even mentioning the Netflix service over Xbox Live, and the streaming service that can come right to my TV. That’s 5 ways to get movies within a foot of my TV. It’s madness.
Now, choice is of course a good thing, but the problem is that each of these services don’t really offer much choice. If you want a complete way to get movies over the web, you almost have to have all of these boxes. That’s because the movie studios form partnerships and alliances with various services and not with others. And they have silly rules about who can stream/download what, when, and how. It’s a mess. And Hollywood really needs to sort it out soon, or they are just asking for trouble as broadband continues to improve.
Now, none of this is to say that Epix is bad. It sounds pretty good. They claim to have more than 3,000 titles from Lionsgate, MGM and Paramount at launch. And eventually, they want to tap the full library of over 15,000 movies between the partnering studios. They also claim that Epix will have the largest collection of HD films streaming online. That’s all great, but what they don’t say is that even at 15,000 titles, that’s just a sliver of what’s out there — it’s only movies from those few studios. And, if you want this content in your living room, you’re going to need Verizon FIOS, which only some 2 million people have.
I still find it preposterous that I can walk into a Blockbuster and rent a movie the day it comes out, but cannot do that with all new releases on iTunes and the Xbox 360. Even more perplexing is when studios demand movies be pulled (or made for purchase only) so they can run them on the premium cable channels. Netflix has a great selection of old movies, but has basically no new films. And the HD selections on all of these services are pretty poor.
So while it may sound great that another competitor (Epix) is entering the game, it’s really just another half-effort. I’ll be honest, I’d rather have one service that has everything I want, even if it’s slightly more expensive, then 10 of these half-services. I do not want or need more boxes or pipelines coming into my home just to get content that one of my 5 other boxes doesn’t have because of some backward-thinking licensing agreements.
Of course, while I say all of this, I do not expect it to change anytime soon. Even Apple, which famously bullied the music business into its one-music-store-to-rule-them-all (iTunes), has had a lot of trouble getting the movie studios in line. It’s a crapshoot every week when new movies come out on iTunes whether they’ll be available to rent or only buy (or neither). And the total number of HD downloads — which were unveiled in March — can’t be more than 25 or 30 total, still.
The problem the movie studios face is that while broadband limitations in this country have limited piracy, speed and options are slowly improving. It’s only a matter of time before piracy becomes a large scale issue if Hollywood doesn’t start coming up with some kind, any kind, of comprehensive plan for digital distribution. Obviously, we ran into the piracy problem the previous decade with music, and the lone success to rise up was iTunes. Why? Because it had all the major labels on board and was very consumer-friendly. The current offerings from Hollywood are anything but.
More isn’t always better. Sometimes, it’s just more. Even in Hollywood. Actually, especially in Hollywood.
well put
What really frustrates me is when I want to see a movie, I’m willing to pay to do so, and nobody’s willing to sell that to me. A movie that isn’t in theaters anymore because it’s more than a few weeks old, isn’t yet out on DVD, and isn’t available online or on cable On Demand services.
Why is there the mysterious gap where I can’t see the movie?
oh, that release window (honest) is for the business class flight you took, or failing that, just go to a local hotel for the night and it’ll be on PPV. sound like a bargain?
“Have you ever seen the back of a $20 dollar bill….. ON WEED”
Take a look at Crestron ADMS with WorldSearch. High end solution for bringing the web into a single UI. Amazon is on board and it has a built in BD player and the ability to attach network storage.
This is not a ‘complete’ TV watching solution but its getting really close and the ‘fixed’ user interface makes navigating the madness much easier. If hollywood cant pull it together then someone has to do it for them.
Every night i pray for a $299.00 product that will do all this
.
…
For this matter, once I discussed with one of my friends, not only about the content you talked about, but also to how to improve and develop, but no results. So I am deeply moved by what you said today.
In the UK there is a hookup in the works between the main TV channels being led by the BBC to address some of this via DTT/broadband hybrid boxes http://projectc...as.wikidot.com/
How far they get with the studios on film content is the question, but these guys are at least used to negotiating with them as part of their core businesses. They have a track record from the successful UK Freeview DTT rollout, so hopefully they’ll get somewhere.
well written
too little content
too much hype
rcm
semi green blog
http://semigree...g.blogspot.com/
MG, very good observation.
I believe that streaming is the future (obviously) but the current structure is all wrong.
With the services, you only get what they want you to see or whatever major content licenses they can get.
As for “streaming HD”, any service can deliver HD streaming over a FIOS connection. We have ran extraordinary tests of pushing Blu-ray level content over a 50MBPS FIOS line, but who has this ($99 a month) speed in America?
If more people has FIOS, Netflix and Apple would offer more HD streaming themselves.
My bet is on the format model, meaning, making streaming as part of an electronic format with the freedom to sell and distribute similar to DVD.
You wont find the same diverse content on these streaming “services” as you would on DVD. Want special interest content, no find. Want porn, no find. Want a tutorial on Street Fighter 4 tips, no dice. But these things are available on DVD.
When the streaming provisions can match the ease of creation and distribution of DVD, then you will have the future you are looking for. That future is in progress right now I am happy to say
I believe that children, not streaming, are our future. You need to listen to some more Whitney and get your facts straight.
And those kids will be streaming their entertainment.
or using a torrent
MG – Were you given access to the beta? You gave us your insight on the movie industry, but left out the review for Epix.
I agree! I would love to see Netflix offer everything through their streaming service. Then partner up with Hulu and offer all TV content streaming right to my TV or PC or maybe even mobile device.
If that happened I would cancel my cable right away which I’m sure is part of their concern.
I love monopolies and collusion as well. Perhaps they can get Apple to purchase the conglomerate and then only offer it to iphone/apple tv users.
I agree 100% and would love to pay for such a service. The contracts should extend into major companies as well.
The way I would do it is get an apartment in Hollywood (North Hollywood or Santa Monica). I would try and get into all the major clubs, events and setup a zillion meetings for a pitch-athon. Burn a fat joint with some kool kats and before you know it you have all the top 50 studios on board. I would guess partnering with an “A” Actor/Actress with a strong business sense and giving them 5%-10% of the company for their contacts and actual physical introductions would be a good way to go.
I think this is very possible but it would take sincere conviction, passion and boatloads of cash!
I meant to say “The contracts should extend into major COUNTRIES as well.”
Great post MG. Hopefully Hollywood sees that piracy is what happens when studios don’t engage, not the other way ’round…
Or even worst, when pirates start to make money using new technologies that Hollywood are too slow to adopt.
if you dont learn from history, youre doomed to repeat it.
I just dont get why hollywood arent happy to allow any legitimate service to stream their films. I mean, its midnight, you cant sleep, your not going to bother going to blockbuster are you? but you might see what you can find on the web.
they must be passing on mega money.
Hollywood is running behind already common technology.
Buy a MacMini, run Boxee or Plex. Problem solved. Under $600.
Yeah, I especially love Boxee’s Hulu integration. The studio’s busted their asses to make that one work.
Oh, wait…
MORE BETTeR!!!! *picket sign*
Finally a good post man. It’s nice to see you writing about something other than twitter.
You’re right, and that’s why so many people fall into piracy. We need an iTunes for movies.
Welcome to the land run by the Left, can’t wait to see how their health care system turns out!
I count 64 HD movies in the iTunes store.
That’s right, MG. I counted them all.
ha nice. still, that is so weak. it’s been 9 months.
Piracy is not the only driver behind releases not making it to the web.
Cable networks pay major $$$ to make sure that they have exclusive rights to air a film. HBO, for example, wants you signing up with them (and not Showtime) and they’ll pay top dollar to be the first to broadcast “Spiderman 12″. The studio sells the first cable run rights for a LOT of money. Then they’ll sell off the broadcast to commercial TV. Then they seel secondary rights, and on and on. Included in all of these negotiations are exclusive rights to broadcast.
With the average studio film costing $75M, and a tent pole costing $200M, often times studios won’t see a profit from a film until it finally gets to TV. ( Just try and think about that. Studios spend BILLIONS every year creating and marketing content.) There are simply not enough users streaming content to make it profitable for the studios to mess with their revenue streams from DVD’s and TV. If Apple or Netflix or Epix could offer more cash then HBO, the studios would switch over in a second.
The current issue of Wired features a story about Netflix which further explains film distribution rights. It is a great article.
Disclaimer: I do not work for Wired.
MG, do the research. its all public. Explain the windowing system. The true issue is pay TV – the HBOShowtimeStarzz window – they write a huge check almost as big as Blockbuster rev share check.
This means that whereas as Blockbuster netflix OWN the dvd they buy, the IPTV/VOD / Streaming window (which can start even before DVD does), has a licesne and it only last 18 months.
So there is a gaping hole that lasts for up to 5 years after that, where HBO has rights, so it can’t be on VOD or IPTV or web streaming.
Movies are financed on that pay TV check coming in… future quarters are dependent on it.
What you hate is Pay TV, you don’t know it yet.
Great article – I wish someone could pull all the partnerships together so I can stream all my content directly to my tv – or at least a single box. If western Digital would add some streaming services to their WDTV2 box (without serious hacking), that would be great.
I’m currently using CinemaNow as they seem to have the latest releases, unlike Netflix who streams way old movies.
I agree with some of Ken’s comments here.
I don’t think the movie studios are necessarily behind the times, they are after all already recouping their million dollar investments on big films and making a profit too. They see web/streaming revenue is as part of the same home entertainment distribution that DVD’s are in. If the audience demand for web streaming increases I think you will see them sweep in with a better solution. At the moment they are merely dabbling with a smaller extra revenue stream. I think that those of us who use the web for streaming movies are a very small percentage of the movie viewing audience as a whole and the studios know this. I know plenty of people who wouldn’t watch a movie on a computer or who don’t want to mess around with hooking up their web to a TV, so in that regard MG you are right, if a piece of technology was to come along and make it easier for home viewing of latest releases then the audience appetite would probably increase. For the mostly ‘non-techie’ viewers out there though this would probably have to come in with their cable package, which then leads us back to the deals studios already do with TV stations to screen their films. Maybe we have to wait for coming TV revolution to unfold and see where we all sit then??
Agree with Ken, Morgan, and Jay here. While I think that streaming is a solid way to distribute content, and definitely has strong value in terms of delivering that content to a connected TV, the technology isn’t the issue here, nor is the willingness of the studios to PUT that content there. What’s at issue is the business model. As soon as any of these channels provide the same time of revenues that the studios can get from other windows (PayTV, Airline/Hotel/Premium VOD, etc), THEN you’ll start seeing content appear in them.
As for the piracy, the studios are WELL aware of the effects, and are combating it both from enforcement and commercial sides. Remember, they aren’t stupid – they realize the same things that are put forth in this article!
Yep. Too many boxes.
one device, please. one easy device.
it could start with….a…a..a sonos for movies?
i think this issue mirrors the early digital retail trends found in the music industry post-napster and early ITMS (which was only just 6 yrs ago).
It took about 2 years for ITMS, to devise a revenue model that worked, and even longer to work out an ingestion system for major label and indie label content so as to make it available within 30 days after submission from the distributor. Rhapsody was and is quick. They were, and are, ingestion stallions. music was regularly available (and sometimes still is) in the rhapsody store faster than itms.
The problem noted by MG is that he was just introduced to yet another streaming service. I felt the same way when i could only find a House Of Large Sizes album on downloadpunk.com but not at amazon or itunes.
Like music, movies are my crack. i’m a movie freak but oddly i have completely stopped a long bred habit of trolling the local indie video store. The minute dvds became affordable, netflix came along, and then instant play (not to mention hulu…omg what fun) – i found myself addicted to on-demand film. Sorry, Lost Weekend on Valencia St (best vid store in SF) but i haven’t been there in over 10 months.
I thought about buying a device, i nixed all the options. even friends at Apple said “don’t get apple tv” – as i thought i might end up doing, i just hook my lappy up to my tv, et voila. I pull up hulu, netflix, or iTunes. Easy. But also annoying because i sacrifice quality for ease of use. lame. lame lame.
imho….
another piece of this puzzle lies with the retail (streaming) services (netflix et al) and their ingestion rates, coupled with (as Ethan wisely notes) services who are unable to provide revenue streams to studios.
And many of the subscription services we use cannot ingest the content at the speed we desire. It’s my understanding that digital distribution companies (IODA included, now partnered w/ Sony) are encoding films at a rapid pace.
see:
http://www.ioda...elease_id=74#74
and
http://www.ioda...elease_id=59#59
that said, i could navigate 2 or 3 services easily and would love to have them on one piece of hardware. While all of it sorts out, i’d love an [affordable] sonos-like device, so i could at least find the movie i want at the moment i want it, regardless of it’s location in the cloud. Eventually the services will level out and there will be 3 big ones. Or one. who knows. Whatever. all i know is if mg hasn’t seen basterds on the big screen yet he’s way way overdue.
MG – Take a peekat Gigantic Digital http://www.giganticdigital.com. We’re pioneering – for independent film- the very thing you’re looking for.
U1i4Cb I want to say – thank you for this!