Well.. at least I'm ahead of the trend...
At the moment I'm teaching econ students that once the media catches up with something, it's too late to cash in on it. Well, they've finally caught up to us downloading TV show episodes.
Good to see my 'TV Watching' habits (gotta be careful what I say on the web...) are more or less in sync with the rest of the worlds. '24' tops the list, The OC is at no. 6, Smallville at no.7.
As for Battlestar Galactica, it's at no. 9 but it's already on TV so I'm kind of not bothering.
I'm not sure downloading TV shows threatens the TV industry in the same way as downloading movies or music does. I plan to watch '24' when it screens here, it's just I am the most ill-disciplined person in the world and can't wait till then!!
Plus, most people without MediaGate MG-25's are still going to be watching it on their PCs, which isn't quite the same as sitting on the couch. To download these episodes you also really need broadband. Case in point: without broadband it takes a couple of weeks to download one episode of 24. With broadband it takes about 6 hrs.
Anywho, now that the media has caught up with it, it probably means that there will be some restrictions coming... so enjoy while you can :)
Ten most-pirated TV show downloads worldwide:
1. 24
2. Stargate Atlantis
3. The Simpsons
4. Enterprise
5. Stargate SG-1
6. The OC
7. Smallville
8. Desperate Housewives
9. Battlestar Galactica
10. Lost
There are alternatives to a straight free-for-all or lawsuits. Instead of restrictions, David Farrar is suggesting a pay-per-download system with a cost of about $5/episode. This would be US$2.50, only 2.5 times what iTUNES charges for a song. I'm pretty sure producing a TV show is a hell of a lot more expensive than producing a Britney Spears song. I am not sure whether this kind of pricing would allow studios to recoup their costs at all.
If you're going to charge such a low fee, and make a loss, why not just make it free?
Sound like a recipe for disaster? Well, not exactly. Why not make episodes available in a special downloadable format through a specific media player. This player would make it impossible to fast forward advertisements. The company could then charge a higher advertising fee on the basis that people WILL watch the advertisements (and not fast forward them like they do now).
Given the choice between a free legal reliable download and a free illegal unreliable download, people would prefer to be legal. I also think they could get more out of advertising than US$2.50 per user. Especially when you consider that broadband is used by those in higher income brackets with more cash to spend.
Good to see my 'TV Watching' habits (gotta be careful what I say on the web...) are more or less in sync with the rest of the worlds. '24' tops the list, The OC is at no. 6, Smallville at no.7.
As for Battlestar Galactica, it's at no. 9 but it's already on TV so I'm kind of not bothering.
I'm not sure downloading TV shows threatens the TV industry in the same way as downloading movies or music does. I plan to watch '24' when it screens here, it's just I am the most ill-disciplined person in the world and can't wait till then!!
Plus, most people without MediaGate MG-25's are still going to be watching it on their PCs, which isn't quite the same as sitting on the couch. To download these episodes you also really need broadband. Case in point: without broadband it takes a couple of weeks to download one episode of 24. With broadband it takes about 6 hrs.
Anywho, now that the media has caught up with it, it probably means that there will be some restrictions coming... so enjoy while you can :)
Ten most-pirated TV show downloads worldwide:
1. 24
2. Stargate Atlantis
3. The Simpsons
4. Enterprise
5. Stargate SG-1
6. The OC
7. Smallville
8. Desperate Housewives
9. Battlestar Galactica
10. Lost
There are alternatives to a straight free-for-all or lawsuits. Instead of restrictions, David Farrar is suggesting a pay-per-download system with a cost of about $5/episode. This would be US$2.50, only 2.5 times what iTUNES charges for a song. I'm pretty sure producing a TV show is a hell of a lot more expensive than producing a Britney Spears song. I am not sure whether this kind of pricing would allow studios to recoup their costs at all.
If you're going to charge such a low fee, and make a loss, why not just make it free?
Sound like a recipe for disaster? Well, not exactly. Why not make episodes available in a special downloadable format through a specific media player. This player would make it impossible to fast forward advertisements. The company could then charge a higher advertising fee on the basis that people WILL watch the advertisements (and not fast forward them like they do now).
Given the choice between a free legal reliable download and a free illegal unreliable download, people would prefer to be legal. I also think they could get more out of advertising than US$2.50 per user. Especially when you consider that broadband is used by those in higher income brackets with more cash to spend.
posted by Dileepa at 7:18 am
2 Comments:
The $5/episode figure was a ballpark, not a considered price calculation. Basically what we need is the studios to actually investigate themselves what sort of market there would be at various prices.
A with advertising model might work, be happy if it does.
Fair comment re: $5/episode figure. Problem is that once you go past $5 you get into pretty expensive territory. If you try and recoup costs through subscription you're looking at maybe doubling the amount(at the least).. which would be $10 per episode. This is almost what it would cost to buy these episodes in a DVD boxset.
Plus, you'd have to pay for the bandwidth price too.
In order for it to be available at an economic price it would need to be subsidised in some way. I suggest that advertising is the best option.
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