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Film Studios May Block DVD Rentals For One Month

Ponca City, We love you writes "The LA Times reports that in an effort to push consumers toward buying more movies, some major film studios are considering a new policy that would block DVDs from being offered for rental until several weeks after going on sale. Under the plan, new DVD releases would be available on a purchase-only basis for a few weeks, after which time companies such as Blockbuster and Netflix would be allowed to rent the DVDs to their customers. 'The studios are wrestling with declines in DVD sales while the DVD rental market has been modestly growing,' says Reed Hastings the CEO of Netflix. 'If we can agree on low-enough pricing, delayed rental could potentially increase profits for everyone.' Three studios have already tried to impose a no-rental period of about a month on Redbox, the operator of kiosks that rent movies for $1 per night, believing that Redbox's steeply discounted price undercuts DVD sales. Redbox has responded by suing the studios, seeking to force them to sell it DVDs simultaneously with competitors. Meanwhile, the company is stocking its kiosks with DVDs it can't otherwise obtain by buying them from retailers."

9 of 545 comments (clear)

  1. hey, it beats by geekoid · · Score: 5, Funny

    trying to sell people what they want or how they want it~

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    1. Re:hey, it beats by spun · · Score: 4, Funny

      Keep telling yourself that, astroturf-boy. Obviously, no one will stand up to you and your nefarious plan will go off without a hitch now that you've belittled one guy on the Internet.

      --
      - None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license. -- John Milton
    2. Re:hey, it beats by Arthur+Grumbine · · Score: 1, Funny

      I'll put off buying any new movies until they quite this greedy behavior.

      Seeing as you're a self-avowed anarchist I doubt the studios have been making much money off of you since the advent of file-sharing.

      --
      Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.
    3. Re:hey, it beats by layer3switch · · Score: 4, Funny

      Yeah, I am same way. For instance, I rented "Ghost" over the weekend and oh boy, that was a good movie. Patrick Swayze should really make more movies like Ghost... because it's recent... oh fuck it. never mind. Too soon...

      --
      "Don't let fools fool you. They are the clever ones."
    4. Re:hey, it beats by rhyder128k · · Score: 4, Funny

      "Because I'm the type of guy, when someone tries to push me around, I will do the opposite of what they want just to show them they shouldn't try to push people around."

      The Chuck Norris of internet forums!

      Voice over guy - "They messed with his file sharing. That was their first mistake. They made him insert the disk before he could play a game. That was their second mistake. Then they put a one month delay on DVD rentals. That was the worst mistake they ever made. This summer, a Slashdot user is going POST A COMMENT! Post A Comment is rated PG."

      --
      Michael Reed, freelance tech writer.
  2. Maybe they could ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just set up special places where they would show the DVDs on large screens before they tried to sell them.

  3. "The LA Times reports by circletimessquare · · Score: 2, Funny

    that in an effort to push their business model further towards irrelevancy, some major film studios are considering a new policy that would harvest ill will in increasing amounts from consumers for several weeks. Under the plan, new DVD releases would be available on a purchase-only basis for a few hours, after which time filesharing such as Bittorrent and eMule would offer the DVDs for free. 'The studios are wrestling with declines in DVD sales while the rest of the world adapts superior distribution technology,' says PHBasterd, the CEO of Clueless Inc. 'If we can agree on annoying enough artificial tollbooths, $0 could potentially seem far more attractive to consumers.' Three studios have already tried to impose arbitrary attempts to control what they can't control anymore on any forward looking company with a better idea, believing they can stop progress and return to some nostalgic time period when Sonny sang with Cher. Consumers have responded by not caring and doing whatever the hell they want, since IP law was never meant to be used as a club on the general consumer. Meanwhile, media execs snorting coke off hookers' asses have been complaining that there is less coke and less hookers and why don't people understand how vital and important they are to the flow of media and culture."

    it doesn't reflect well on you when you've already lost and you won't admit it

    game over dude

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
  4. Re:Increase profits for everyone... by FlyingBishop · · Score: 2, Funny

    I think the word you're looking for is fascism. But hey, it's all the same thing, right?

  5. Re:So.... by Arthur+Grumbine · · Score: 1, Funny

    I'll do what I already do, save it in my Netflix Q, and wait for the rental.

    I, too, sometimes feel that Netflix employs the services of an omnipotent transdimensional being to manage my movie selections.

    --
    Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.