Windows of opportunity. Windows of revenue. Windows are the ecosystem for how content is monetized. A movie opens in theaters in the US, then Europe, then on airlines & Pay Per View, coupled by a DVD release and first run HBO, second run Starz, 3rd run USA, 4th run NBC and so on and so on. What will the arc of a content launch look like in the future?

Car Tvs And Dvd Players

When a movie studio sets up a tentpole release of a major motion picture like Robin Hood or Avatar, Hollywood makes a decision. They take a deep, acid-reflux breath & decide should we release this movie in the US and then go global, should we do a worldwide release all at once or should we dump this bomb on 2 screens in NY and LA and send this turd to BlueRay for a long slow ride to the .99 bin at Walmart?

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There is no bigger fundamental risk to the roll-out of a major motion picture than to miscalculate the lifecycle for its many forms and release schedule within its formats.

Are they releasing Russell Crowe Man in Tights worldwide because they are afraid of the reviews killing the buzz or do they want to snag Crowe for press before he goes on a bender? In any event, the event of unveiling a film is momentous at least momentous in the eyes & red meat of the producers who have sweat out a film's existence and so every decision they make could mean the difference between boffo @ boxo or doa @arrive...

The interesting thing is that I contend that the days of this choice could be numbered.

Movies and all content live in windows of opportunity. Opportunity to buzz, opportunity to monetize and opportunity for the consumer to consume in dissimilar seats, formats, ratings & devices. Will the future of entertainment be a menu of choices as a movie is released? What if Robin Hood was released in regular theaters at , in 3D theaters at , at home on pay-per-view at 0 in G/PG/R ratings, on your cars satellite DVD player for .95 and on an iPad for 1 stream at .95?

If the studios crunch the windows down accordian-style and monetize the event over a 2 week window, will they pull in their margins? Does giving flexibility deflate the event of a movie or does it increase the productivity of the marketing spend? One thing is certain: it makes no sense to stay with the current model. Testing alternative pricing models for movies and for other forms of entertainment like live concerts, pilots of new TV shows and even Broadway productions make sense.

Flexibility is the key to premium content in the future and allowing pricing structures to trigger different consumer behavior could turn the 0 million weekend into the 0 million weekend. If it does not, one can easily flip back to the old timeworn standard, but what the world needs is true event marketing.

Not everyone goes to a movie theater. Not everyone wants their content on an iPhone, but everyone needs some form of content and all forms of content are not created equal. Formats, convenience & even a film's quality should play a role not just in how and how much one markets a piece of content, but also in how much one should throw down for that content. Broadways shows started to successfully test this concept with The Producers. They charged greedily for house seats on certain nights with particular seat addresses. They also created windows one could buy in like the American Express Platinum Card Window or the Telecharge Subscriber Window etc. It worked and others have mimicked it successfully.

Why are we so loathe to this concept when it comes to other forms of entertainment? S Jobs cannot be right that all music is created equal. Have you ever actually listened to Peter Frampton? Hello! Just as all books, movies, concerts are not created equal. Bottom-it-out: A screw off bottle of cheap pink bubbly is not the same damage as a bottle of Cristal just as a bottle of Cristal is not the same price if purchased in a liquor store vs being purchased at Pure in Vegas. The content is crucial whether it be flat champagne or a symphony for the taste buds just as location should also dictate pricing.

Are we sheep? Will we pay and eat any crap that we are fed? Perhaps. But I hold out that if the movies are funnier, scarier, better and the windows become a window with which we all could consume something in the way we want to consume it, the Cristal will flow!

Revenue Opportunities In a Digital Age

Car Tvs And Dvd Players