In a world where snakes belong on the ground...
(SOAP parody trailer -- quite good!)
Bye, now. Have good sex.
Kaylee ,'Jaynestown'
Buffista Movies 5: Development Hell
A place to talk about movies--old and new, good and bad, high art and high cheese. It's the place to place your kittens on the award winners, gossip about upcoming fims and discuss DVD releases and extras. Spoiler policy: White font all plot-related discussion until a movie's been in wide release two weeks, and keep the major HSQ in white font until two weeks after the video/DVD release.
Jessica - Apr 22, 2006 7:48:23 am PDT #1433 of 10001
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
Polter-Cow - Apr 22, 2006 1:39:04 pm PDT #1434 of 10001
What else besides ramen can you scoop? YOU CAN SCOOP THIS WORLD FROM DARKNESS!
YET THERE ARE SNAKES ON THE PLANE ANYWAY.
Jessica - Apr 22, 2006 7:22:14 pm PDT #1435 of 10001
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
Warner Home Video has begun trial sales in China of a movie DVD priced at just Rmb12 ($1.50), a move likely to anger consumers in developed markets such as Europe and the US, who typically pay $20-$30 for a recently released film on DVD.
The test sales of the modestly packaged edition of the The Aviator mark one of the boldest efforts yet by an international film company – WHV's Chinese joint venture, CAV Warner – to adjust its marketing strategies to the potentially huge but piracy-plagued Chinese DVD market.
The "simple pack" edition of the Oscar-winning epic, which comes in a cardboard folder rather than the standard DVD plastic box, went on sale earlier this month in selected Chinese cities, said Christine Hu, CAV Warner public relations manager.
Not that I really want my DVDs with no extras in a cardboard sleeve, but damn, if this is even a viable option for Warner, we American customers must be getting really ripped off.
bon bon - Apr 22, 2006 8:18:08 pm PDT #1436 of 10001
It's five thousand for kissing, ten thousand for snuggling... End of list.
The price point probably takes American sales into account. But I see what you mean... if they can make a profit off $1.50, what's the marginal overhead here?
DavidS - Apr 22, 2006 8:21:36 pm PDT #1437 of 10001
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
But I see what you mean... if they can make a profit off $1.50, what's the marginal overhead here?I don't know if you can presume they're making a profit. They're probably trying to establish the market first. Short term loss for long term plans seems possible.
bon bon - Apr 22, 2006 9:03:06 pm PDT #1438 of 10001
It's five thousand for kissing, ten thousand for snuggling... End of list.
You don't have to assume it, but I'm not assuming instead that they're taking a loss.
ETA: taking a loss to provide a product available in the same market for possibly less money.
DavidS - Apr 22, 2006 9:10:01 pm PDT #1439 of 10001
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
ETA: taking a loss to provide a product available in the same market for possibly less money.
Well, piracy is a huge issue over there. So even just getting people to buy their product from them is a step forward.
Volans - Apr 23, 2006 1:53:03 am PDT #1440 of 10001
move out and draw fire
Definitely less money. DVDs or computer games/programs are about $1 each in China.
I think I read somewhere that the per-CD cost to manufacture is 3.5 cents. There's a little extra for packaging and marketing, but that still allows for profit at $1.50 per (I'm assuming DVDs aren't greatly more expensive than CDs, although they are some more expensive).
Jessica - Apr 23, 2006 6:06:42 am PDT #1441 of 10001
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
So even just getting people to buy their product from them is a step forward.
Not if they're losing money off it.
It's a small ethical victory, sure, but the problem of piracy from the studio's POV is that it costs them money. So if they're also losing money in this new setup, it's an entirely pointless venture. I think it's safe to assume that they're at least breaking even.
[eta: When I order DVD stock for my office, the cost per disc is about $0.60. Granted, that's in much smaller quantities (usually only 1,000 at a time) than someone like Warner home video is going to be buying, but there is a substantial difference in cost between DVD and CD blank media.]
DavidS - Apr 23, 2006 7:07:16 am PDT #1442 of 10001
"Look, son, if it's good enough for Shirley Bassey, it's good enough for you."
It's a small ethical victory, sure, but the problem of piracy from the studio's POV is that it costs them money. So if they're also losing money in this new setup, it's an entirely pointless venture. I think it's safe to assume that they're at least breaking even.
I'm not saying it's an ethical victory. I'm saying it's like the difference between iTunes and what Napster was. People used to steal it for free, but when it became cheaply available legally there was a market for it. People still trade songs without paying, but there is a fairly large market as it turns out that likes the convenience *and* legality.
To establish that market I can see them using a business model that is not profit driven over the short term. Like say, the predatory pricing of Borders where it moves in next to an established independent store, and undercuts them on price because it gets discounts from publishers, and then after it drives the indie out, can raise its prices back up.
Of course, I don't know if that's what they're doing, but establishing themselves in the Chinese market is such a huge venture with such a massive potential upside that it seems like it would be worth taking a short term loss. In any event, they have to price their product close to the pirated versions to get a foothold. I'm guessing that's a bigger factor than profit at this point.