They're losing a million customers, but only 200k would be streamers. Now, 800k seems like a lot, but the disc-only crowd also has high expenses because of mailing costs.
It's the 200k streamers who they won't have that I'd worry about. Netflix is changing their business model and the company is screwed if they can't increase the number of streaming customers.
Apple owns the online music business and dictates its terms to music companies. ATM, buying shows online is a tiny market because you can get much better quality via watching it on tv or buying dvds/hddvd/bluray.
Hddvd and bluray are fighting it out for physical media, but 5-10 years down the road compression and bandwidth could get to the point that people can buy the shows online with the same high quality. (This is what Microsoft aiming for). When/if it gets to that point, NBC doesn't want Apple to have the same power over it as they do with the music market.
The BBC article seems incomplete. Here's an AP article that came out Tuesday that should complement it.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/ 20040302/ap_on_bi_ge/volvo_women_1
Here's some highlights from it.
The result -- a roomy, 215-horsepower coupe -- makes a statement about what women want. Simply put, they want more.
The result: A car that's designed to be nearly maintenance free, requiring an oil change only every 31,000 miles. When it's time for an engine inspection, the car sends a wireless message to a local service center, which notifies the driver.
The vehicle doesn't have a hood -- the whole front end lift ups for easy access by a mechanic, since the designers didn't envision doing much engine work themselves. You fill up the tank using a roller-ball valve opening, like many race cars have, because it's simpler and less messy than removing a gas cap.
The engine is a low-emission, gas-electric hybrid.
Gull-wing doors allow easy access to space behind the driver's seat. The bottom of the rear seats fold up, similar to theater seating, providing more storage space. The car also has dirt-repellant paint and glass, exchangeable seat covers with matching carpet and sensors that guide the driver for easier parking.
I have a feeling that if some area is inaccessible by road, it's not likely to have DSL or fiber running to it either. So they'd still have to bring the hard-disks (or whatever media) by hand.
That's not why they won't be using the digital theater though. Seriously, who's going to be able to afford the $50,000 equipment and DSL connections when they don't have accessible roads. Obviously, this won't be an affluent area. How do the theater owners actually plan on making money off this?
And as for the $1500 cost of physical film, that's a moot point. Places like that will likely get it 3-6 months and 3rd or 4th-hand after the film has been circulated throughout other countries.
Taiwan has an insignificant population and can be safely ignored. On the other hand, the potential market in China is huge. The problem is, it's extremely hard to tap it and make a profit if what you're selling is content, as most Chinese will simply pirate it. Hell, Nintendo is trying to break into the Chinese market with a customized console that will only play games from a customized memory card that you can only put games on from licensed stores. It's a valiant attempt but it's doomed to failure because either noone will buy it, or if it gets popular enough, a way to pirate the games will be found.
China's launched a man in orbit 42 years after the Soviets put the first man in space. A single man in a capsule. Using Russian technology.
Realistically, China's space race is against John Carmack.
everyone likes to put down microsoft, but this isn't something you see them doing. and somehow they still manage to compete.
They don't need to import foreign workers. Last time I checked, they have a development center in India. Why import foreign workers and pay them American wages when you can go over there, set up shop, and pay them local wages.
I want Disney to succeed beyond their wildest dreams with Spirited Away. Disney has the licenses for most of Ghibli Studio movies. If you ever want to to see any of them released domestically in the US instead of having to import them, you had better hope that Spirited Away wins Oscars, expands to 1000+ theaters, and Disney rakes in the $$$.
Otherwise, we'll be stuck with crap like Fox putting out My Neighbor Totoro in pan & scan, bare bones dvd.
Unfortunately for the FS fans, more than likely their efforts won't work and if anything cause a lot of snide and humorous jokes about their commercials on SNL, Jay leno and such. Even if simply because the lack of quality.
It's nice that they are willing to try and make a point about their dedication but it probably will just reach the average TV viewers and NOT anyone in control of FS's life-span.
It'd be great if they did get the snide comments and humorous jokes on TV shows. That'd be the best type of advertisement for saving the show. Unfortunately, it won't have much of an impact because while it might attract the interest of an average viewer for a while, there's nowhere for them go to easily see the show as it's not being aired atm, not even as a rerun. Oh, they might rent the dvds at Blockbuster, but at two episodes per dvd, noone's going to go nuts over the series if they have to pay $4 to watch 2 episodes.
How can price fixing even make business sense (legal or not) for Nintendo? Nintendo is definately not a monopoly, so you'd think that price fixing games would just drive more customers from the Gamecube to the PS2 or (gasp) XBox.
From the article:
The firm and seven distributors have been found guilty by commission anti-trust officials of attempting to keep prices artificially high in some EU states between 1991 and 1998.
You really should try reading the article first before posting comments.
despite the fact that it's glaringly obvious that UK Brits are systematically ripped off on everything from Cars to Computers compared to our European counterparts - very little action is taken.
Some facts:
Average Family car in UK- £12,000
Average Family car in Holland - £9,000
To fill an Average family car with petrol in the UK costs £50 or $80
To fill the same car with petrol in the USA costs £15.07 or $24.11
Pack of 20 cigarettes in the UK - £4.20
Pack of 20 cigarettes in Spain - £1.60
Pint of beer in pub in UK- £1.90
Pint of beer in pub in spain - £0.80p
Six pack of beer in UK - £4.20
Six pack of beer in Germany - £2.40
In all the examples that you cited, it's the UK government that keeps the prices artificially high. So yes, UK subjects are getting royally screwed... by their own duly elected officials.
For example, we are constantly seeing people being made redundant, unemployment rising throught Europe. I can only assume that the US is also suffering. In the long term if the production of most of our goods ships to China, the wealth of the nations will also be shipped there too.
That leaves us in the "West" impovrished, disenfranchised and unable to purchase any of these goods. Sorry to be gloomy but this is NOT good news.
A lot of manufacturing already left the US, starting in the 80s. While it did take a lot of jobs out of the country, the US economy has compensated and become more of a service economy than manufacturing.
If you live in Europe, I'd be worried. While the manufacturing is of much higher quality than China, the quality of Chinese goods can only go up in time. Japan did it, and now it's happening to them in turn.
Japan has been floating in and out of a recession for the last decade and while it's their banking system that keeps them in it, the fact that Japanese corporations are moving their manufacturing out of Japan with no signs of new jobs being created to replace the ones lost doesn't help.
There are two reasons why there are real life beatings because of the multiplayer games:
1. They take the games very seriously.
2. Korea's a densely populated and relatively small country (compared to the US) so they can physically meet the person they're playing with/against. I'm sure that there are people in the US who would do this, but it's kinda expensive to catch a plane to go beat up some other kid. Not everyone can get a wad of cash like Jay and Silent Bob;)
I remember reading an article on this and the police had a term for these beatings, an "offline PK."
Having got broadband internet, Koreans use it much more. Dr Heejin Lee, a lecturer at Brunel University, says Koreans rack up an average of 1,340 minutes per month, which compares with the UK average of 382 minutes. The high usage stems partly from it being fast enough for video on demand: people can use it to time-shift TV programmes, or catch up with episodes of soaps they have missed. Also, 54% of Koreans play online games.
Their TV stations do VOD the right way. You can watch any show up to that they've aired for up to a week and without commercials. My mother, who lives in San Antonio, TX, and knows nothing about computers, watches these after she gets home from work. The quality of the video streaming isn't that good at times, but that probably has more to do with the fact that it's being streamed from Korea. It doesn't bother my mom too much as she watches the news and old style music shows that she liked when she left Korea 20+ years ago.
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They're losing a million customers, but only 200k would be streamers. Now, 800k seems like a lot, but the disc-only crowd also has high expenses because of mailing costs.
It's the 200k streamers who they won't have that I'd worry about. Netflix is changing their business model and the company is screwed if they can't increase the number of streaming customers.
Apple owns the online music business and dictates its terms to music companies. ATM, buying shows online is a tiny market because you can get much better quality via watching it on tv or buying dvds/hddvd/bluray.
Hddvd and bluray are fighting it out for physical media, but 5-10 years down the road compression and bandwidth could get to the point that people can buy the shows online with the same high quality. (This is what Microsoft aiming for). When/if it gets to that point, NBC doesn't want Apple to have the same power over it as they do with the music market.
$690 is nowhere near 60% of $930. It's closer to 75%.
Of course, 25% wouldn't sound impressive to the masses.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap
I have a feeling that if some area is inaccessible by road, it's not likely to have DSL or fiber running to it either. So they'd still have to bring the hard-disks (or whatever media) by hand.
That's not why they won't be using the digital theater though. Seriously, who's going to be able to afford the $50,000 equipment and DSL connections when they don't have accessible roads. Obviously, this won't be an affluent area. How do the theater owners actually plan on making money off this?
And as for the $1500 cost of physical film, that's a moot point. Places like that will likely get it 3-6 months and 3rd or 4th-hand after the film has been circulated throughout other countries.
Taiwan has an insignificant population and can be safely ignored.
On the other hand, the potential market in China is huge. The problem is, it's extremely hard to tap it and make a profit if what you're selling is content, as most Chinese will simply pirate it.
Hell, Nintendo is trying to break into the Chinese market with a customized console that will only play games from a customized memory card that you can only put games on from licensed stores. It's a valiant attempt but it's doomed to failure because either noone will buy it, or if it gets popular enough, a way to pirate the games will be found.
China's launched a man in orbit 42 years after the Soviets put the first man in space. A single man in a capsule. Using Russian technology. Realistically, China's space race is against John Carmack.
What you are saying is just wrong, wrong, WRONG!!
I want Disney to succeed beyond their wildest dreams with Spirited Away. Disney has the licenses for most of Ghibli Studio movies. If you ever want to to see any of them released domestically in the US instead of having to import them, you had better hope that Spirited Away wins Oscars, expands to 1000+ theaters, and Disney rakes in the $$$.
Otherwise, we'll be stuck with crap like Fox putting out My Neighbor Totoro in pan & scan, bare bones dvd.
From the article: You really should try reading the article first before posting comments.
If you live in Europe, I'd be worried. While the manufacturing is of much higher quality than China, the quality of Chinese goods can only go up in time. Japan did it, and now it's happening to them in turn.
Japan has been floating in and out of a recession for the last decade and while it's their banking system that keeps them in it, the fact that Japanese corporations are moving their manufacturing out of Japan with no signs of new jobs being created to replace the ones lost doesn't help.
There are two reasons why there are real life beatings because of the multiplayer games: 1. They take the games very seriously. 2. Korea's a densely populated and relatively small country (compared to the US) so they can physically meet the person they're playing with/against. I'm sure that there are people in the US who would do this, but it's kinda expensive to catch a plane to go beat up some other kid. Not everyone can get a wad of cash like Jay and Silent Bob ;)
I remember reading an article on this and the police had a term for these beatings, an "offline PK."