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Retailers Pressure Studios on Web Deals
mikesd81 writes "Over at the Associated Press, there's an article about retailers pressuring movie studios for the same deals that online servies are getting. Target has sent a letter warning 'that Target might have to reconsider the amount of shelf space allocated for movies if studios undercut the wholesale price of DVDs by giving online services a better deal on digital offerings.' At issue is the low price some studios charge for films downloaded through such fledgling services as MovieLink, CinemaNow and Amazon.com's recently launched video store. The two-disc rerelease of Disney's 'The Little Mermaid' now retails for $14.87 at Wal-Mart and $14.99 at Target. The movie can be bought for $12.99 on iTunes."
Retailers want money, shoppers want deals, and cats want all your base. News at 11:00.
Target and Walmart have been undercutting stores since they opened by monopolizing distribution. Now they're going to get a taste of their own business model.
Wasn't it the distributers that said the cost of the media and packaging made up a great deal of the cost of DVDs? I'd say the retailers are getting a pretty good deal with only $2 difference between the DVD + packaging + extras vs just a video file.
Doesn't it seem reasonable that a downloaded copy should be a little bit cheaper than a physical copy? I mean after all, when purchasing a downloadable copy of a movie you save the cost of:
I'm sure there are more savings, those are just the few real obvious ones.
It sounds to me like the Tar*Mart's of the world are just being greedy.
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why should these two products be priced equivalently? The retailers are looking for preferential treatment, not equal treatment. Download services are selling gimped products, not full multi-disc DVD collections. the two things are entirely different, and if anyone is being short-changed on price it's the download services. Why buy only the movie when for $2-4 more you can get all the extra content at higher quality?