[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #208: Movie distribution news

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OPLIN 4Cast

OPLIN 4Cast #208: Movie distribution news
December 15th, 2010

movie scene board 
<http://www.oplin.org/4cast/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Scene_Board.gif>Today 
we are going to ignore all the news items about WikiLeaks 
and Google eBooks 
<http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/discover-more-than-3-million-google.html> 
and look instead at movies. It's been a while (4cast #193 
<http://www.oplin.org/4cast/index.php/?p=1335>) since we 
looked at developments in ways to deliver movies to at-home 
viewers. Movies are, of course, a substantial portion of the 
total circulation of library items, but you might want to 
consider these news stories before you order more shelving 
for your DVDs (or VHS tapes). The biggest news was the 
late-November announcement from Netflix that they will offer 
a download-only subscription service to movies and TV shows, 
and industry reaction to that news.

    * Netflix intros $7.99 streaming-only plan
      <http://arstechnica.com/media/news/2010/11/netflix-intros-799-streaming-only-plan-bumps-dvd-prices.ars>
      (Ars Technica/Jacqui Cheng) "'You might also wonder
      why we haven't introduced a new plan that includes
      only DVDs by mail,' [Netflix VP of Marketing Jessie]
      Becker wrote. 'The fact is that Netflix members are
      already watching more TV episodes and movies streamed
      instantly over the Internet than on DVDs, and we
      expect that trend to continue.'"
    * Netflix's move onto the Web stirs rivalries
      <http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/25/business/25netflix.html>
      (New York Times/Tim Arango and David Carr) "The
      dilemma for Hollywood was neatly spelled out in a
      Netflix announcement
      <http://netflix.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=376>
      Monday of a new subscription service: $7.99 a month
      for unlimited streaming of movies and television
      shows, compared with $19.99 a month for a plan that
      allows the subscriber to have three discs out at a
      time, sent through the mail, plus unlimited streaming.
      For studios that only a few years ago were selling new
      DVDs for $30, that represents a huge drop in profits."
    * Amazon working on rival to Netflix streaming-only
      subscription service
      <http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/amazon_working_on_rival_to_netflix_streaming-only.php>
      (ReadWriteWeb/Mike Melanson) "Already, Amazon offers
      streaming television shows and movies through its
      Video On Demand
      <http://www.amazon.com/gp/video/ontv/start> product,
      which is available on both computers as well as
      Internet TV devices, but this provides more of an à la
      carte offering. According to The Wall Street Journal
      <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704493004576001781352962132.html>,
      the company is 'developing a Netflix-like subscription
      service that would offer TV shows and movies,
      according to people familiar with the matter. That
      service would be included as a bundle with its Amazon
      Prime shipping service, which costs $79 a year, those
      people said.'"
    * Vending machine copies movies to thumb drives
      <http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2010/12/flix-on-stix-vending-machine-copies-movies-to-thumb-drives/>
      (Wired/Charlie Sorrel) "You jam a USB stick or SD-card
      into one of its kiosks and pick a movie, game or TV
      show. The 'flick' is then transferred to your 'stick'
      and you can take it home to enjoy it. Fees are based
      on how long you want to keep the movie, costing $1 for
      3 days, $2 for 6, $3 for 9 days and $4 for 12 days.
      Once your time is up, the movie-file will self-destruct."

*/Stock market Fact:/*

Last week, Standard & Poor's promoted Netflix from their S&P 
MidCap 400 index up to their widely followed S&P 500 index 
of large-cap American stocks. On the same day, they removed 
the New York Times from the S&P 500 and put it in the Midcap 
400 index.
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