Talk about your Heigh Ho / Oh No moments.
On the heels of reports that the 70th anniversary edition of
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" had topped national sales charts (supposedly
because of high consumer demand for this Disney classic in Hi-Def) came Bob
Iger’s comments at an entertainment law conference this past Saturday. Where
Disney’s CEO said – in essence – that the Company has not sold nearly “ … as
many (Blu-ray titles) as we would have liked.”
According to what Company insiders have told me, the problems can be traced
back to two key demographics:
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25-to-39 year-olds.
Many of who have already amassed a DVD library of over 80 titles. More
importantly, these consumers remember how they felt compelled to replace VHS
versions of films that they already owned for the supposedly superior DVD copies
of these same titles. Which is why these folks are now showing some real sales resistance
when it comes to Blu-ray. To be blunt, they’re not anxious to repeat the
VHS-to-DVD cycle. Especially in this economy.
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13-to-24 year-olds. 80% of who now consider the computer to
be their primary entertainment source. When members of this demographic are
looking to kill some time, they don’t throw a disc in the family DVD player.
Instead, they go play a video game and/or update their Facebook status.
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has tried to address both
of these issues by bundling many of its more recent Blu-ray titles (i.e.
including a DVD version of this film for the 25-to-39 year-olds while also
tossing in a digital download of that same title for the 13-to-24 year-olds). Then
– to make these new releases seem that much more appealing to the Internet
generation – WDSHE added BD Live to these Blu-ray discs. Which allows viewers
to interact with their friends online while they were watching these Hi-Def films.
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But given the obvious impact that Netflix & Redbox have
had on DVD & Blu-ray sell-through rates, in spite of all of the energy
& innovation that Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment has thrown at this
situation, the erosion of traditional electronic media shows no sign of
slowing. Which means Iger is now scanning the horizon. In particular looking for
new ways to engage that 13-to-24 year-old demographic. Who are far more
comfortable with the idea of downloading their next entertainment option via
computer.
And when it comes to capturing this demographic, one idea that keeps getting floated in-house is a subscription service. Which would allow The Company to sell premium content online and then give its fans unprecedented access to the Disney vault.
As one Mouse House insider recently explained it to me:
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“We currently have hundreds of thousands of hours of
material that we’re never ever going to put out on DVD or Blu-ray because its
appeal is far too narrow. Only the truly diehard Disney fan would ever want to
see stuff like this.
But if we were ever able to set up an encryption system that
would allow us to safely stream this material online, we’re talking about
a goldmine. Think about all the stuff we could make available for downloading.”
Mind you, it’s Disney’s concerns about encryption (More
importantly, that their entire film library could wind up being pirated if they
don’t have all of the necessary safeguards in place before launching this new
business initiative) that has – to date – prevented this project from moving
forward.
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But given that Iger – earlier this year when he spoke
at a Deutsche Bank-sponsored conference in Palm Beach, FL. – was quoted as saying
that “ … we’re trying to find ways to make (the popularity of online video) work for
us. Not fight it. From our perspective, the computer is a very, very important
place to entertain people” … It’s really only a matter of time ‘til Disney’s
online subscription service project finally moves forward.
So what Disney-related material would you folks like to see
be made available for online viewing? Other than – of course – the obvious (i.e.
“Song of the South”)?
Your thoughts?
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