Does delaying international release dates for films promote piracy?
September 13th, 2008
Imagine eliminating file sharing of movies.
Now forget it, you can pretty much write that goal off, file sharing, bit-torrents, screeners, cams, all of these things are not going away.  The genie is well and truly out of that bottle and to be honest I’d much rather the law enforcement departments focus on child abusers rather than fourteen-year-olds downloading a Metallica album, of course Metallica may have differing opinions, I’m actually fairly certain they do.
Sometimes rather than fighting the current, you need to go with it and try and steer your direction. Â I’ve been thinking about the Australian region, I’m sure my thoughts might apply elsewhere too but obviously I’m going to think locally on these matters.
So I was thinking, doesn’t delaying a film’s release date in secondary markets increase its chances of being pirated and distributed on the Internet?
My case in point here is Hellboy 2: The Golden Army which was released in the US on 11/07/2008, it wasn’t released in Australia until 28/08/2008, so a month after its initial release. Â A month isn’t that much really, online though it is an eternity. Â Look at the demographic of people who would probably go see a Hellboy movie - comic book fans, probably Internet savvy and probably a fan of movies in general. Â Signs point towards them being slightly fanatical, so waiting for something is probably not high on their list. Â
By delaying the film’s release for no evidently good reason you have to be losing people everyday, people who would have seen the film in the cinema.
The flip-side to this particular example though is simply that the film has performed reasonably well here and in the UK where it was also delayed so it obviously hasn’t been that hurt by file sharing. Â I was personally given two free tickets to see the film, so I didn’t contribute to its gross, although I must admit I actively promoted the film before seeing it and said what I thought of it afterwards.
What I’m getting at is that maybe it isn’t that much of a problem, maybe the studios need to stop worrying and learn to love the bit-torrent? Â If they are still concerned then I think closing the release time gap between regions is certainly a step towards minimising the impact.
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Categories: Movies | Tags: bit torrents, cinema, file sharing, hellboy movie, piracy
I know with tv that the networks are trying to negate the effects of piracy with all these new series being fast-tracked. I think that is great - i’d much prefer watching on tv then pc.
examples 90210, prison break, fringe etc compared to the bloody abc which didn’t start s4 of Doctor Who for about 5/6 months after the release in uk.
The season had 1 ep left to show in the uk before they started it over here. argh!!
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By Lee on September 13th, 2008 | Reply
I actually applaud the networks that are doing that, my only complaint is that there still is a week or so delay so spoilers are still a problem but certainly not like the Dr Who 6 month wait!
There are a couple of shows that I won’t wait to watch but then there are others that because they’re coming out on TV so quickly I’ll just wait.
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By Arjan on September 13th, 2008 | Reply
overhere they caught up with Prison Break quite fast..but I’ll still be getting loads of series from torrents. It’s just when you’re on a US schedule..you don’t want to wait another half year (if they show it overhere at all!).
Arjans last blog post..True Blood {main theme}
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I really don’t see why they are delaying it either..haven’t had time to go to HB2 yet though, but I will. For me there are some movies that I just háve to see in the cinema, and others..well I’ll just torrent them or watch them when they come out on tv.
Arjans last blog post..True Blood {main theme}
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Agree there is no point to delaying it - well other than to increase the use of bit torrents etc
Same with TV shows.
Maritas last blog post..Smiley Saturday
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Delaying a movie is poinless but I guess it could always be tracked for piracy purposes, some movies make their debut in certain cities in the united states.
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Here’s my take on media file sharing:
1. I’ll only visit cousin Larry if I hear/read about something that grabs my attention and I can’t see it any other way.
2a. If I don’t like it, I’ll leave it at Cousin Larry’s
2b. If I like it, I want them to be able make more, and the only way they can do that is get paid for what they’ve done. So, to that end, I’ll find a way to pay them when I’m able to (Go see it at the cinema, buy the DVD from an authorised source, purchase it on iTunes, buy some merchandise etc).
I know this isn’t eveyone’s view on the issue, but it allows me to experience more of the world that I just couldn’t before, mainly due to distribution issues.
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Hmm, this is a tricky one.
I am not one for copying stuff, but at the same time, because we get things a bit later, I will have forgotten about it. I have gone to the movies more and bought more DVDs as a result of online information that I can access.
Widdle Shamrocks last blog post..Smiley Saturday and Silly Sunday ……. on Monday
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Pricing, I think is something else they need to look at.
Bettinas last blog post..Thank You
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I don’t have the money to buy everything on dvd from stores..most tv serie seasons start at 40€ per season..
If it’s really good, I’ll buy it later so they still get their money.
Arjans last blog post..True Blood {main theme}
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By Lee on September 16th, 2008 | Reply
Word dat. $48 for Seaquest season 2 - umm yeah I’ll wait thanks.
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