Movie Pirates - And we don’t mean Jack Sparrow
Written by Andrew Meagher (contact - e-mail) -- May 9th, 2007 |
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This past weekend Hollywood executives were celebrating as Spiderman 3 broke several world-wide records during its first few days of theatrical release. The receipts would seem to be indicative of a strong summer at the box office despite several months of sagging or flat performance. But while the studios can breathe a sigh of relief for now, another potential threat to their revenue is looming.
Several years ago, file sharing outfits like Napster ultimately forced a change in the music industry’s distribution model. Now some enterprising tech folks (or pirates, if you prefer) are using advances in streaming technology to force a similar change in the movie industry. In recent months, sites such as PeekVid.com and Alluc.org have sprung up promoting links to movies currently in theatrical release, allowing you to watch SpiderMan 3 right on your laptop without waiting in line or having to listen to a comic book fanboy next to you chomping on his popcorn.
Here’s a quick look at traffic to just a few of these sites:
Each of those visitors potentially represents a movie ticket not sold, a pay-per-view not purchased, or a NetFlix delivery not made. But since the sites themselves only provide links to content without actually hosting the content themselves, their legal liability appears to be minimal. And more are emerging. Check out OVGuide.com to see how many people are getting into the game.
One newcomer, bedroommedia.com, has posted this message on their landing page:
“bedroommedia is committed to an industry solution that will provide a mechanism to compensate artists that create the work you enjoy watching. bedroommedia would like to be part of the long term solution.”
Translation: “Hey, movie studios. We can help you out, but it’s gonna cost ya.”
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May 9th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
First, great post. It’s good to see all this data.
Second, a bit of devil’s advocate:
Each of those visitors potentially represents a movie ticket not sold, a pay-per-view not purchased, or a NetFlix delivery not made.
Potentially being the key word there, since there is no causal proof of downloaders not paying to go see, or wait and buy or rent, the movie. There might be a certain percentage that will end up not spending the money - and has anyone speculated on this percentage? And what of people who download, talk about the movie and cause the result that someone else pays to see it…hmm. Is all exposure good exposure?
May 9th, 2007 at 3:08 pm
“Potentially” is indeed the ket word, Ken. My intent was to illustrate the potential size of the issue. Sites such as these are growing in popularity and numbers. At some point it’s reasonable to assume that they’re going to have an impact on the bottom line. But your points are valid, too — we don’t yet know that visiting these sites makes one less likely to spend.
May 10th, 2007 at 9:48 am
I had no idea sites actually promoted pirated content. I understand the intent people have for downloading movies, such as Spiderman, but seriously, why not go see the movie on the big screen.
May 10th, 2007 at 3:18 pm
I haven’t gone to too many movies these last couple of years. The reason are legion. The crowd noise, the commercials, the outrageous prices for a handful of popcorn and sweetened water, the tiny screens, the overly bright house lights during the movie, the out of focused images, etc. Going to movies in a theater is more a punishment than entertainment. And yes, I’ve walked out of a couple of movies already and demanded my money back for the atrocious theater conditions.
May 12th, 2008 at 5:39 am
Thanks for this Excellent post
June 15th, 2008 at 12:04 am
I would have to agree with Jim there. I just refuse to pay outrageous prices anymore to movie theaters. It cost me $25.00 to go see a movie and that is no including bringing another with me, to sit in a dirty, sticky theater with noisy people/kids gets very annoying, Ushers constantly walking around flashing lights. I can go on and on about a list of things that cause people to watch movies on the internet other than going to the theater. Who’s the real blame?
There have been many studies with musicians putting their music on the internet for FREE and if you like it donate money, you would be surprised the results… Think about it. I personally think all this controversy is about greedy film makers and actors wanting and wanting more. In my opinion they are way over paid anyway but that is besides the point.
Simple solution to solve most of all these problems, make it to where you can actually pay to view the movie from your house instead of the theaters. You might get a shocking result.
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