Movie Studio Idiots At It Again

[WannaGo]

The movie studios are so frickin' clueless about consumers.

Because DVD sales are down (who wants to pay almost $20 for a movie that's probably going to suck?), these geniuses have decided to make DVD rental outfits wait 30 days before they can start renting new releases. The studios think that this will drive people to buy more DVDs, instead of just waiting the month, then renting them.

From the LA Times:

For those who like renting movies, Hollywood may soon have a message: Prepare to wait.

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 Inc. and Netflix Inc. would be allowed to rent the DVDs to their customers. The move comes as the studios are grappling with sharply declining DVD revenue, which has long propped up the movie business.

Reed Hastings, chief executive of DVD-by-mail company Netflix, revealed that he had discussed delayed-rental proposals with several of his biggest suppliers. People close to the situation at several studios confirmed that such plans were under consideration and probably would take effect next year.

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Of course, reactions have not been good.

The Consumerist had a great headline: Netflix Will Screw You For the Right Price...referring to reports that Netflix is going to go along with the plan in exchange for discounts on new DVDs from the studios.

I think TechCrunch got it right in predicting that all this will do is cause more people to pirate DVDs. Instead of buying more DVDs, they'll either wait the 30 days or just download them illegally.

From the article:

And some who have never done that before will learn how to get around such a ridiculous restriction.