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Disney considering 28-day rental window, because 'On Stranger Tides' was that good
That sound you can hear is the studios dashing around as they look for a new scapegoat. Disney's got Redbox and Netflix in its sights as it declares plans to impose a 28-day window before it'll make its titles available for rental. Despite conceding that the studio hadn't seen any impact on overall DVD sales, CEO Bob Iger pointed to a 16 percent drop in quarterly revenue compared to 2010 as the motivation. It's also collecting splinters in its backside as it watches to see how well digital locker service UltraViolet fares with consumers before committing to join the program. Of course, given the legitimacy of First Sale Doctrine, it's possible Redbox will do as its done with Warner titles and just buy 'em at retail -- as long as it can cover its costs as it does so.
Netflix: Warner Bros. movies now available after 56 day delay
Warner Bros. must have thought that CES was a good week to bury bad news, but unfortunately most people pay attention when you pull a move like this. Netflix has confirmed the rumor that if you wanna rent movies from the aforementioned studio, you'll have to wait 56 days, twice as long as the previous window. In the press-release (available after the break), the studio states it's doubling the window to maximize potential of its new releases. It also heavily implies that the studio was threatening to withdraw access to its library unless the rental service complied. We're keeping our ear to the ground to hear if similar announcements are forthcoming from Redbox and Blockbuster. Nothing like a little heavy-handed action to convince you that ownership truly is better than renting when it comes to DVD blockbusters, eh? Update: Redbox got back to us with an official statement: The current agreement Coinstar has with Warner Bros. is to receive movie titles 28-days after their release. No revised agreements are in place.
Netflix inks with Universal and Twentieth Century Fox: first TV streams, more films, and 28 day rental delay
Everyone's streaming media darling, Netflix, has just reached terms with both Universal and Twentieth Century Fox. Both agreements beef up Netflix's streaming content while limiting Netflix to renting DVD and Blu-ray discs 28 days after the retail street date -- yup, just like with Warner Brothers. To put that into perspective, while Twentieth Century Fox's "Avatar" DVD/Blu-ray will hit shelves on April 22nd it won't be available for Netflix rental until the end of May. On the plus side we've got a first time, Netflix TV streaming agreement with TCF -- albeit, released in a window it decides. Content includes the complete prior seasons of shows like "24," "Bones," and "Lie to Me" in addition to older library titles like "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Can't say we didn't see this one coming.
