why TV-on-DVD business is not so hot - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

hch · 04-21-2011, 09:23 PM

These TV-DVD companies cater to what THEY think you want or like, even if it is crappy. Crappy product means no sales, so what they need to do is listen to the consumers and get the ball rolling, or get some of these creators' heads rolling. Look at the stuff we have out already: One season of a successful show, and nothing else, half a show out on DVD (stalled seasons), and complete series of stuff that no one really knows or even care about. Believe me, if I was in charge, I would un-stall the seasons and to HELL with the results. That's how businesses are successful- they follow their own rules and don't go by what's trendy or what the fads are.
So TV on DVD creators: STOP TRYING TO KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES!

Regulus · 04-21-2011, 11:16 PM

Then there are the Shows the Studios REFUSE to release because of "Corporate Greed" (The 1966 Batman along with shows such as The Wonder Years stand out here), or "Political Correctness", (Disney's Song of the South is the "Poster Child" Here, though I'm sure there are several TV Series the Studios refuse to release), because they fear repercussion from some small group of Crybabies who got offended by (A),a Scene in the show. (B), claim they were "Steriotyped" or (C), they didn't like the Religious/Political Position a Star took. (Ever notice if that same group puts out something the rest of us find "offensive" they claim "Constitutional Rights" and/or say anyone who's against them is prejudiced?) Holy Hypocrisy Batman!

So what's a Viewer to do? What else? If someone wants a product, but the Producer of the Product refuses to sell it, that person gets the product from "Somewhere Else"!

Robert 13 · 04-22-2011, 10:09 AM

I know someone is going to say "sales are necessary" or "if it doesn't sell, they won't release it" ... and I know these studios are in business to make money... BUT, they shoot themselves in their own foot when deciding on releases. First off, they don't realize people want "COMPLETE". Shout did it with "Leave It To Beaver" and it's been very successful for them. CBS was hesitant to release "The Lucy Show" until fans started a letter-writing campaign. Now, it's one of their most successful classic tv-on-dvd releases. They are releasing it at a steady pace because, duh!, people SAID THEY WANTED IT!

The problem with the companies (with the exception of Shout, MPI and even VEI) is they don't seem to have the enthusiasm or the knowledge of their own properties. I've said it before...but how can someone in the executive offices at Sony NOT know "Good Times" is complete on dvd. Hello?!?! Do they work there???

mets82 · 04-22-2011, 03:51 PM

There is another thread on the board about if people should cut the cord on cable/satelitte tv. Some people have decided to buy DVD's instead of having cable and watch them at there own time. People have also said its cheaper but how about a situation like mentioned above? What are you going to do? The one thing, that I dont think was mentioned is all the copyright music issues that go along with DVD's. Most likely, all songs would be deleted because the rights are too expensive, which I think is dumb anyway.

Regulus · 04-22-2011, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mets82

People have also said its cheaper but how about a situation like mentioned above? What are you going to do? The one thing, that I dont think was mentioned is all the copyright music issues that go along with DVD's. Most likely, all songs would be deleted because the rights are too expensive, which I think is dumb anyway.

That's listed under

"Corporate Greed"

mets82 · 04-22-2011, 10:25 PM

Even if you dropped Cable/TV and just get DVD's, whats to say that in 2 or 3 yrs. something will replace DVD's? Then you'll have a lot of DVD's and you cant do anything with them. Kind of like whats going on with VCR's:

ekkostar · 04-23-2011, 03:15 PM

I and many others are still not happy with Season 4 of Night Court. DVD Talk has a huge thread on it over at their boards, someone there finally heard back from WB and I guess the set is (sort of) fixed but they're no longer selling it.

Tubehead · 04-23-2011, 06:40 PM

it took 10 years for boy meet world seaon four to come out on dvd. nwo their realsing it seanfive andseaon six itcoule ofm onths . th fifth seaon comes out in may 3 rd then the six seaon comes out july 5 after mybrithday. i don't know why they don't put th older shos outfirst then put thenewer stuff later. i gues it goes by how much money they makeor how popoular the shows. i read the only reason their not rleasling the wonder years is the music. not sure aboutbatman. that anthoer show not on dvd iheardadam west is tryingto get batmman on dvd. then i read they were going to put out brookley bride then they said noone would buyit. i would they said that to seven daysand kung fu ledgen countie.

TVFactFan · 04-23-2011, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert 13

I know someone is going to say "sales are necessary" or "if it doesn't sell, they won't release it" ... and I know these studios are in business to make money... BUT, they shoot themselves in their own foot when deciding on releases. First off, they don't realize people want "COMPLETE". Shout did it with "Leave It To Beaver" and it's been very successful for them. CBS was hesitant to release "The Lucy Show" until fans started a letter-writing campaign. Now, it's one of their most successful classic tv-on-dvd releases. They are releasing it at a steady pace because, duh!, people SAID THEY WANTED IT!

The problem with the companies (with the exception of Shout, MPI and even VEI) is they don't seem to have the enthusiasm or the knowledge of their own properties. I've said it before...but how can someone in the executive offices at Sony NOT know "Good Times" is complete on dvd. Hello?!?! Do they work there???

Completed on DVD not necessarly complete-lol

1960'sTVfan · 04-23-2011, 08:08 PM

As far as classic TV goes, (1950's to 1970's shows) I think the DVD era has already peaked. The majority of most popular shows have already been released in complete form. Releases of old shows will be fewer and fewer from this point forward. Would be nice if some of these long unseen, short lived 1 and 2 season shows would get released, but I'm not very optimistic about that. There are a couple things I'm still waiting to get released, but for the most part my TV DVD buying days are over. I'm mostly satisfied with the TV DVD's I have bought, my biggest complaint is with the Gomer Pyle DVD's and all those music edits. That is totally ridiculous, a number of episodes were ruined because of those stupid edits.

DVD's of Emergency! could have been better also, especially seasons 4 and 5.

McGillicuddy · 04-23-2011, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by retroTVfan4ever

As far as classic TV goes, (1950's to 1970's shows) I think the DVD era has already peaked. The majority of most popular shows have already been released in complete form. Releases of old shows will be fewer and fewer from this point forward. Would be nice if some of these long unseen, short lived 1 and 2 season shows would get released, but I'm not very optimistic about that. There are a couple things I'm still waiting to get released, but for the most part my TV DVD buying days are over. I'm mostly satisfied with the TV DVD's I have bought, my biggest complaint is with the Gomer Pyle DVD's and all those music edits. That is totally ridiculous, a number of episodes were ruined because of those stupid edits.

DVD's of Emergency! could have been better also, especially seasons 4 and 5.

...and how about the splitting seasons into volumes. CBS is notorious for that. My Three Sons, ran for 12 seasons, and if its ever released entirely on dvd, well dvd's will be obsolete! Besides, this show is already ruined with music edits. Why don't they treat all their classic sitcoms like The Lucy Show?

1960'sTVfan · 04-23-2011, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by markway895

...and how about the splitting seasons into volumes. CBS is notorious for that. My Three Sons, ran for 12 seasons, and if its ever released entirely on dvd, well dvd's will be obsolete! Besides, this show is already ruined with music edits. Why don't they treat all their classic sitcoms like The Lucy Show?

I mentioned this somewhere in another thread, look at how CBS has hacked the Gomer Pyle and My Three Sons DVD's, yet the Lucy Show DVD's have uncut episodes with all original music intact. Even cast commercials were included. I guess it shows what the power of Lucy can do, even today.

As far as splitting the seasons into 2 volumes, I agree that is stupid also. There were a lot of complaints about My Three Sons DVD seasons 1 and 2, I don't think CBS will release any more seasons. Another studio will probably have to pick it up. I haven't bought My Three Sons on DVD, because of the music edits and also because I think the show hasn't aged very well.

JayTN · 04-24-2011, 02:13 PM

There are many reasons, I believe, why the TV on DVD business may be flagging right now. Least of all...the sagging economy. But, we do need to remember that these DVD companies - whether it be a heavy hitter like Warner Bros. or a small label like Shout! Factory - need to make money. Should we expect them to release a title that isn't popular just because it has a small, yet vocal support group? Would we expect any other company to do something that causes them to lose money?

With that said, here are some reasons why the business is sagging...

1) Cost. This relates directly to the economy. I no longer buy TV on DVDs when they first come out, but wait until they get "cheap" enough for me to buy (I try to spend no more than $2 an episode, so for example...a 22 episode TV on DVD should not cost more than $20-$30.) I just this week got around to buying "Dexter: The Fourth Season" because Target had it on sale for $14.99 (for 13 episodes). Compare that to $34.00 at Wal-Mart and currently $28 on Amazon.

2) Half Season Sets. The trend (especially from CBS/Paramount) to cut TV series into two half-season sets doesn't really bother me...except when they do not adjust the price accordingly. According to Amazon, you can buy "Dynasty: Season Two" (in one complete set) for $28.99, compare that to "Dynasty: Season Three, Volume 1" at $25.99 and "Dynasty: Season Three, Volume 2" at $27.49. So, you can buy the full second season for $28.99, but would have to shell out almost $54.00 for the full third season - almost double from season two! That is a clear case of "corporate greed".

3) Seasons Aren't "Complete". This doesn't really bother me, depending on what it is about. If it involves music replacement, I don't really mind. This isn't a problem with newer TV shows since they have contracts with musicians that allow the music to be used on a DVD/Blu-Ray release. Getting the rights to certain music can be very expensive. If one wants the original music on a certain release, would they also be willing to pay double - maybe triple - the price of what the set with replaced music may be? If a DVD company is trying to pass off edited or syndicated versions as "complete", I will NOT buy that title. That is the main reason why I have not purchased "Roseanne" or "Mama's Family" on DVD. Why pay for episodes you can watch on television for free?

4) Long Waits Between Releases. This is largely due to less than spectacular sale figures. I bought the first two seasons of the ABC series "Once & Again" (starring Sela Ward and Billy Campbell as divorcees) and eagerly anticipated season three - which was even given a release date and cover art. Yet, that third season (which is also the final season) has never been released yet. Why keep the final season unreleased when the previous ones have already come out? If anything, ABC/Disney could lease it out to a smaller company for release, or make it MOD (manufacture-on-demand) to lessen costs. That is preferable to letting a series be "orphaned" on DVD.

Personally, I think Warner Bros. has one of the best track records for DVD releases (the whole "Mama's Family" being a rare misstep), while Sony and CBS/Paramount have to be two of the worst offenders.

hch · 04-25-2011, 09:42 AM

If you're putting out season after season of one show that's not really that popular and ignore another or stall the remainder of a more acclaimed show for the sake of "Pap sells", then it does not make sense to me. If you start a show, complete it. That's why people get pissed off at these companies.

I'm a straight up buyer of DVDs. I guess I was just looking at the recent string of titles on the TV-DVD release list and I wonder "why isn't this show complete?" or "This show shouldn't even be out on DVD yet". I feel like if I see one more re-release of "Friends" or "Seinfeld" or some of the newer comedies or shows, I would just scream. I even called some of these companies and wrote to some of these companies about stalled titles and seasons. I'm on message boards of these various shows and I constantly hear "This shows needs to be completed" or "The companies don't care as long as they sell crap".

I try to be a defender of the classic shows because I feel that they are not getting the due respect or attention they deserve. And I know that "Classic shows don't sell as well as contemporary shows" and all that rhetoric. But if it wasn't for these older shows, you wouldn't have the contemporary stuff. I'm not an economics major but I do say this: People today like to look back to a simpler time and they do pay good money for shows or movies or music that they used to like (I don't care what anyone says about people growing out of shows or music they used to like), nostalgia is where the real money is. Why do you think shows like "Happy Days" or "The Wonder Years" or "That 70's Show" were successful as they were? Nostalgia!

I'm just saying Don't throw your old shows away or don't leave them in the dust. Have lots of faith and not to panic when things go wrong. Make lemonade out of the lemons. Start expecting the unexpected. Believe me, the buyers haven't left. They are merely waiting for the next season or another great classic to come out. You will see a BIG RESURGENCE in the TV-DVD market if you just have faith in the titles you got. I'm not just talking to Shout! I'm talking to all the companies out there. If you work on your older stuff, you will then see people buying the newer stuff as well.

Robert 13 · 04-25-2011, 11:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by retroTVfan4ever

I mentioned this somewhere in another thread, look at how CBS has hacked the Gomer Pyle and My Three Sons DVD's, yet the Lucy Show DVD's have uncut episodes with all original music intact. Even cast commercials were included. I guess it shows what the power of Lucy can do, even today.

This has everything to do with the group of fans that have volunteered their time to help produce these sets. They have done the leg work, research and whatever possible to get the cast commercials, promos, interviews and anything else they were allowed to include. You may notice a Season 1 cast commercials was included on Season 2 because it was not located in time for Season 1's release. So unless someone got involved for every tv-on-dvd release, most companies won't go through the trouble of looking for all the rare stuff.

04-21-2011, 09:23 PM	#1
hch Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 07, 2001 Location: Montross, VA 22520 Posts: 983	why TV-on-DVD business is not so hot These TV-DVD companies cater to what THEY think you want or like, even if it is crappy. Crappy product means no sales, so what they need to do is listen to the consumers and get the ball rolling, or get some of these creators' heads rolling. Look at the stuff we have out already: One season of a successful show, and nothing else, half a show out on DVD (stalled seasons), and complete series of stuff that no one really knows or even care about. Believe me, if I was in charge, I would un-stall the seasons and to HELL with the results. That's how businesses are successful- they follow their own rules and don't go by what's trendy or what the fads are. So TV on DVD creators: STOP TRYING TO KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES!
	__________________ "You don't own the rights or the patent on scuffling!" Willona from "Good Times"

04-21-2011, 11:16 PM	#2
Regulus Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Feb 07, 2011 Location: Port Orange, Florida Avatar - Poiuyt Posts: 3,374	Then there are the Shows the Studios REFUSE to release because of "Corporate Greed" (The 1966 Batman along with shows such as The Wonder Years stand out here), or "Political Correctness", (Disney's Song of the South is the "Poster Child" Here, though I'm sure there are several TV Series the Studios refuse to release), because they fear repercussion from some small group of Crybabies who got offended by (A),a Scene in the show. (B), claim they were "Steriotyped" or (C), they didn't like the Religious/Political Position a Star took. (Ever notice if that same group puts out something the rest of us find "offensive" they claim "Constitutional Rights" and/or say anyone who's against them is prejudiced?) Holy Hypocrisy Batman! So what's a Viewer to do? What else? If someone wants a product, but the Producer of the Product refuses to sell it, that person gets the product from "Somewhere Else"!
	__________________ Grail Shows: *Doc Elliot, Owen Marshall-Counselor of Law, Here's Boomer, Three for the Road, Holmes and YoYo* Bucket List Shows: *Hot Wheels, Skyhawks, Run Joe Run, Westwood* Last edited by Regulus; 04-22-2011 at 01:13 PM.

04-22-2011, 10:09 AM	#3
Robert 13 Member Senior Member Join Date: May 10, 2006 Location: Boston, MA Posts: 1,521	I know someone is going to say "sales are necessary" or "if it doesn't sell, they won't release it" ... and I know these studios are in business to make money... BUT, they shoot themselves in their own foot when deciding on releases. First off, they don't realize people want "COMPLETE". Shout did it with "Leave It To Beaver" and it's been very successful for them. CBS was hesitant to release "The Lucy Show" until fans started a letter-writing campaign. Now, it's one of their most successful classic tv-on-dvd releases. They are releasing it at a steady pace because, duh!, people SAID THEY WANTED IT! The problem with the companies (with the exception of Shout, MPI and even VEI) is they don't seem to have the enthusiasm or the knowledge of their own properties. I've said it before...but how can someone in the executive offices at Sony NOT know "Good Times" is complete on dvd. Hello?!?! Do they work there???
	__________________ Com'è straordinaria la vita, che un giorno ti senti come in un sogno e poi ti ritrovi all'inferno - Dolcenera

04-23-2011, 03:15 PM	#7
ekkostar Coffee, Tea & Larroquette! Senior Member Join Date: Apr 16, 2005 Posts: 1,077	I and many others are still not happy with Season 4 of Night Court. DVD Talk has a huge thread on it over at their boards, someone there finally heard back from WB and I guess the set is (sort of) fixed but they're no longer selling it.
	__________________ "All my sitcoms had an audience, with four or five cameras, so working this way has always been appealing to me." - John Larroquette A living legend, five Emmys and a Tony award! Your favorites could never...

04-23-2011, 06:40 PM	#8
Tubehead Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Feb 12, 2007 Location: chattanooga.tn Posts: 5,139	tvshow on dvd not so hot it took 10 years for boy meet world seaon four to come out on dvd. nwo their realsing it seanfive andseaon six itcoule ofm onths . th fifth seaon comes out in may 3 rd then the six seaon comes out july 5 after mybrithday. i don't know why they don't put th older shos outfirst then put thenewer stuff later. i gues it goes by how much money they makeor how popoular the shows. i read the only reason their not rleasling the wonder years is the music. not sure aboutbatman. that anthoer show not on dvd iheardadam west is tryingto get batmman on dvd. then i read they were going to put out brookley bride then they said noone would buyit. i would they said that to seven daysand kung fu ledgen countie.

04-22-2011, 03:51 PM	#4
mets82 Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Mar 14, 2011 Location: Connecticut Posts: 5,058	There is another thread on the board about if people should cut the cord on cable/satelitte tv. Some people have decided to buy DVD's instead of having cable and watch them at there own time. People have also said its cheaper but how about a situation like mentioned above? What are you going to do? The one thing, that I dont think was mentioned is all the copyright music issues that go along with DVD's. Most likely, all songs would be deleted because the rights are too expensive, which I think is dumb anyway.

04-22-2011, 10:25 PM	#6
mets82 Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Mar 14, 2011 Location: Connecticut Posts: 5,058	Even if you dropped Cable/TV and just get DVD's, whats to say that in 2 or 3 yrs. something will replace DVD's? Then you'll have a lot of DVD's and you cant do anything with them. Kind of like whats going on with VCR's:

04-23-2011, 08:08 PM	#10
1960'sTVfan Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Sep 30, 2009 Posts: 6,125	As far as classic TV goes, (1950's to 1970's shows) I think the DVD era has already peaked. The majority of most popular shows have already been released in complete form. Releases of old shows will be fewer and fewer from this point forward. Would be nice if some of these long unseen, short lived 1 and 2 season shows would get released, but I'm not very optimistic about that. There are a couple things I'm still waiting to get released, but for the most part my TV DVD buying days are over. I'm mostly satisfied with the TV DVD's I have bought, my biggest complaint is with the Gomer Pyle DVD's and all those music edits. That is totally ridiculous, a number of episodes were ruined because of those stupid edits. DVD's of Emergency! could have been better also, especially seasons 4 and 5.

04-24-2011, 02:13 PM	#13
JayTN Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Dec 31, 2010 Location: 10-E-C Posts: 21	There are many reasons, I believe, why the TV on DVD business may be flagging right now. Least of all...the sagging economy. But, we do need to remember that these DVD companies - whether it be a heavy hitter like Warner Bros. or a small label like Shout! Factory - need to make money. Should we expect them to release a title that isn't popular just because it has a small, yet vocal support group? Would we expect any other company to do something that causes them to lose money? With that said, here are some reasons why the business is sagging... 1) Cost. This relates directly to the economy. I no longer buy TV on DVDs when they first come out, but wait until they get "cheap" enough for me to buy (I try to spend no more than $2 an episode, so for example...a 22 episode TV on DVD should not cost more than $20-$30.) I just this week got around to buying "Dexter: The Fourth Season" because Target had it on sale for $14.99 (for 13 episodes). Compare that to $34.00 at Wal-Mart and currently $28 on Amazon. 2) Half Season Sets. The trend (especially from CBS/Paramount) to cut TV series into two half-season sets doesn't really bother me...except when they do not adjust the price accordingly. According to Amazon, you can buy "Dynasty: Season Two" (in one complete set) for $28.99, compare that to "Dynasty: Season Three, Volume 1" at $25.99 and "Dynasty: Season Three, Volume 2" at $27.49. So, you can buy the full second season for $28.99, but would have to shell out almost $54.00 for the full third season - almost double from season two! That is a clear case of "corporate greed". 3) Seasons Aren't "Complete". This doesn't really bother me, depending on what it is about. If it involves music replacement, I don't really mind. This isn't a problem with newer TV shows since they have contracts with musicians that allow the music to be used on a DVD/Blu-Ray release. Getting the rights to certain music can be very expensive. If one wants the original music on a certain release, would they also be willing to pay double - maybe triple - the price of what the set with replaced music may be? If a DVD company is trying to pass off edited or syndicated versions as "complete", I will NOT buy that title. That is the main reason why I have not purchased "Roseanne" or "Mama's Family" on DVD. Why pay for episodes you can watch on television for free? 4) Long Waits Between Releases. This is largely due to less than spectacular sale figures. I bought the first two seasons of the ABC series "Once & Again" (starring Sela Ward and Billy Campbell as divorcees) and eagerly anticipated season three - which was even given a release date and cover art. Yet, that third season (which is also the final season) has never been released yet. Why keep the final season unreleased when the previous ones have already come out? If anything, ABC/Disney could lease it out to a smaller company for release, or make it MOD (manufacture-on-demand) to lessen costs. That is preferable to letting a series be "orphaned" on DVD. Personally, I think Warner Bros. has one of the best track records for DVD releases (the whole "Mama's Family" being a rare misstep), while Sony and CBS/Paramount have to be two of the worst offenders.
	__________________ "We've become a nation of wusses." -- PA Gov. Ed Rendell

04-25-2011, 09:42 AM	#14
hch Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 07, 2001 Location: Montross, VA 22520 Posts: 983	To clarify things.... If you're putting out season after season of one show that's not really that popular and ignore another or stall the remainder of a more acclaimed show for the sake of "Pap sells", then it does not make sense to me. If you start a show, complete it. That's why people get pissed off at these companies. I'm a straight up buyer of DVDs. I guess I was just looking at the recent string of titles on the TV-DVD release list and I wonder "why isn't this show complete?" or "This show shouldn't even be out on DVD yet". I feel like if I see one more re-release of "Friends" or "Seinfeld" or some of the newer comedies or shows, I would just scream. I even called some of these companies and wrote to some of these companies about stalled titles and seasons. I'm on message boards of these various shows and I constantly hear "This shows needs to be completed" or "The companies don't care as long as they sell crap". I try to be a defender of the classic shows because I feel that they are not getting the due respect or attention they deserve. And I know that "Classic shows don't sell as well as contemporary shows" and all that rhetoric. But if it wasn't for these older shows, you wouldn't have the contemporary stuff. I'm not an economics major but I do say this: People today like to look back to a simpler time and they do pay good money for shows or movies or music that they used to like (I don't care what anyone says about people growing out of shows or music they used to like), nostalgia is where the real money is. Why do you think shows like "Happy Days" or "The Wonder Years" or "That 70's Show" were successful as they were? Nostalgia! I'm just saying Don't throw your old shows away or don't leave them in the dust. Have lots of faith and not to panic when things go wrong. Make lemonade out of the lemons. Start expecting the unexpected. Believe me, the buyers haven't left. They are merely waiting for the next season or another great classic to come out. You will see a BIG RESURGENCE in the TV-DVD market if you just have faith in the titles you got. I'm not just talking to Shout! I'm talking to all the companies out there. If you work on your older stuff, you will then see people buying the newer stuff as well.