Netflix recently inked an agreement with Warner Brothers that calls for a 28-day "window" before offering the studio's latest DVDs and Blu-rays for rent, and now there's speculation that more studios and rental outlets—including Redbox, and even brick-and-mortar mainstays like Blockbuster and Movie Gallery—might end up cutting similar deals, all in the name of boosting sagging disc sales.
So, here's the background: DVD sales are down, so down that even a recent surge in Blu-ray revenue can't make up the difference. (Indeed, a recent report found that for the first time in more than a decade, U.S. film lovers spent more on movie tickets than on DVDs.) The big Hollywood studios, which had been making a mint on DVD sales until a few years ago, are freaking out, and they're starting to see the burgeoning DVD and Blu-ray rental market—particularly the rise of Redbox and its $1-a-night DVD rentals—as part of the problem.
The solution, according to Hollywood? To boost disc sales with the help of month-long release "windows," during which the only way for movie fanatics like you and me to watch a brand-new DVD or Blu-ray movie is to buy it.
Three of the biggest Hollywood studios—20th Century Fox, Universal, and Warner Brothers—have already instructed their disc distributors not to sell wholesale copies of their movies to Redbox, and the kiosk company has responded by a) filing a trio of (still pending) lawsuits, and b) buying new DVDs and Blu-rays from the three studios at retail stores, albeit with steep retail markups.
Netflix, on the other hand, seems to be taking a "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" attitude, having just reached an agreement with Warners that calls for a 28-day window before offering the studio's latest movies for rent. In return, Netflix will reportedly benefit thanks to "reduced product costs" and a better selection of streaming Warner Brothers titles in its streaming "Watch Instantly" catalog.
Meanwhile ... Home Media Magazine reports that "speculation continues to mount" as to whether Redbox—which, don't forget, is currently suing Warner Brothers for blocking its access to new wholesale discs—is in fact holding talks with Warners about a Netflix-like 28-day rental window, in exchange for "vastly cheaper product."
Now, here's where it gets really interesting. According to one home video analyst quoted by Home Media Magazine, Redbox might not agree to a 28-day rental window with Warner Brothers (assuming talks are underway at all, of course) unless everyone else—from Netflix to brick-and-mortar DVD rental chains like Blockbuster and Movie Gallery—agrees to similar 28-day windows, too. And offered the right carrots (in the form of better wholesale disc deals), the embattled video chains just might go for it.
And ... assuming that the other big Hollywood studios follow suit (which is a safe bet), suddenly the 28-day rental window is the norm, rather than the exception.
But there might indeed be exceptions, though ... and here's where the mom-and-pop DVD rental stores come into play. As Home Media Magazine suggests, corner video stores might just decide to go ahead and buck and 28-day-window offers from the studios and buy their new-release movies at retail—a pricey proposition, no doubt, but one that would (at last) give them an edge of DVD rental giants like Netflix and Redbox (assuming they'd both cut deals with all the big Hollywood studios).
All of this is to say that there's a very real chance that inside the next year or so, most of us may have to wait a month or so before renting new-release movies from the likes of Netflix, Redbox, and Blockbuster. But will such a "new order" (as Home Media Magazine puts it) have the desired effect of giving DVD and Blu-ray sales a shot in the arm?
Well, personally, I don't think a 28-day window would have much of an effect on my rental habits; given the state of my massive Netflix queue, it usually takes me more than a month to get around to renting the latest releases anyway; there's no way I'm going to go out and buy "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" just because I can't rent it the moment it arrives in stores.
That said, I'd like to hear from you. Would an across-the-board 28-day rental window make you more liable to buy new DVDs and Blu-ray movies (as is the intention from Hollywood's standpoint)? Would you even care at all? Fire away below.
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