Direct-to-DVD subscription

[torkste]

Any chance of this solution?

If a lot of people have bought the season one DVD, maybe a lot of people could finance production of a lotr series that catches up to Crusade and continues one or both storylines.

 

[channe]

I think that this is a line we, as the fans, shouldn't cross. I, for one, got into this science fiction thing because I wanted escapism - not because I wanted to become a fundraiser.

There has been a lot of talk about "fan financing" in the wake of the Farscape cancellation. Some people on Firefly boards are tossing the idea around, even though both of those shows cost millions - per episode. That's right - if you watched all ten aired Firefly episodes, you watched around TWENTY MILLION DOLLARS cross your screen, all told.

Twenty million dollars, and not even a full season in the can. Do the math - with Firefly's ratings, you're talking thousands, maybe even more, from YOUR pocket. And then you get into DVD production. Argh. Headaches galore. It's like a committee of thousands. And if anybody has ever been in a committee of more than one, you know how crazy it gets...

I don't know about you, but I have groceries to buy.

I liked Rangers (except for the screaming in the minefield and a good portion of the sometimes-embarrassing script). I liked Farscape (except for Jool) and I liked Firefly (sigh - no one else appreciates quality anymore). But I'm not willing to shell out cash for it.

I'm going to the library.

 

[Quagmire]

This is for entertainment people. The best thing you can do is watch good shows that come on and don't watch crappy shows regardless of if they are replacing good shows or just bad on their own steam.

You can always read a book or even go outside.

 

[hypatia]

There is a dusty box in my frontroom. I turn it on to see local and national news. From time to time a movie on TCM.

I wonder what else it is good for.

 

[torkste]

Ok, but in this case WB would also earn money from sales to independant networks, sales to foreign TV stations and to regular DVD buyers.

 

[A_M_Swallow]

If a show has 1 million viewers and cost $1,000,000 to make then each fan has to pay $1 plus manufacturing costs etc.

The question is can we sell a miilion copies?

 

[channe]

No.

And who would run the whole operation? Certainly not the studios...

The logistics are staggering.

 

[Cerberus]

I turn my box on for Fox news, hockey, TechTV, and the SCI(science channel). That is about all I watch also. Mostly Fox news. The SCI channel has great Outer Space shows on Fridays nights, Saturday afternoons.

Cerberus

 

[channe]

*blinkblink*

Eww. Fox News.

 

[crazybillyo]

That's about the only news I get. Fox News is good things. Especially Shep. And Bill. And Sean and Alan. And... just about everybody else.

 

[GaribaldisHair]

There is a dusty box in my frontroom. I turn it on to see local and national news. From time to time a movie on TCM.

I wonder what else it is good for.

It makes a great stand for your coffee mug.

 

[A_M_Swallow]

<pre><font class="small">code:</font><hr> And who would run the whole operation? Certainly not the studios...

The logistics are staggering.
</pre><hr>

Downloaders -
Amazon.com
or a new Dot Com company
or Joe DM - he needs a new network and VDSL may appeal to him.

 

[torkste]

Logistics.

No more staggering than any book- og filmclub that sends stuff to members on a regular basis.

 

[channe]

There'd be a difference here. The film club, here, would be producing the material they distribute...

 

[crofootski]

I love Fox News Channel, too. I think they're cool.

And, balanced.

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

I love Fox News Channel, too. I think they're cool. And, balanced.

Here here!

 

[taichidave]

I dunno about Fox news being "balanced."

They usually don't pretend to be even-handed.

I prefer to think of them as "balancing."

But back to the ostensible topic of this thread, channe's right on the money about the money. The vast majority of people who watched, say, Crusade, wouldn't pay anything for new episodes. The few who would pay would have to be multi-millioniares to get a season in the can, or on DVDs.

Now that isn't to say no one should try to overcome these obstacles...

 

[torkste]

I find the system of financing strange. WB depends 100% on a single american networks decisision to send or not send the show. At the same time only a part of WBs income from the show comes from the network, and the income from other sources are not shared with the network.

I would have been interesting to know how the only part of B5 that have been released on DVD has done.
How much of WBs total income has come from:
The first american network (the one that says yes or no)
Later american networks (TNT, SciFi)
Foreign TV
VHS
DVD

If it turns out that the first of these is the far biggest, and the sum of all the other are peanuts, then I would agree that the subscription deal that is the topic here is a waste of time.

On the other hand, if it is as I suspect, that the biggest part of the total income come from these other sources, then an idea like that is maybe not so stoopid.