I mean, the WB has season one of B5 up on their site for instant viewing (that they cut off the last five minutes of the first episode is another matter); but if they hadn't - downloading the episodes was going to be the only way that I had a clue that I was going to enjoy the show.
Yep. I started watching B5 by checking it out at the library. I had heard it was a good show, and I decided to try it out. It never would have occurred to me to just buy the first season without knowing if I would like it or not. If I hadn't had free access to the show, I never would have watched it.
Of course, I have gone on to buy all five seasons and most of the movies. YET ANOTHER CASE IN POINT.
And the reality is, a lot of people I know end up buying the shows they've downloaded...even if they've downloaded them in full. Because they love them so much and want to rewatch them away from their computer or they want the bonus features or what have you. If people like stuff, they're going to buy it. But for a lot of things, there's no way to know if you like it until you download it.
Exactly! It just seems so obvious, I don't know why they can't understand this. Go after the people who put up all the movies and make money off of it, fine, whatever, but the average person who downloads an episode of TV or the occasional song? Please.
From a television standpoint, what they need to do is make everything available, globally, immediately. This bullshit about airing some things in the UK six months before the US (Downton Abbey, I'm looking at you), and some things in the US six months to a year before the rest of the world (pretty much our entire exported lineup) is ridiculous. People will find a way to watch these shows the day they air in their respective countries. Stop making things available online in country-specific sites; make it global. Stop making things available the day after or the week after; make it immediate. And if you offer it for a relatively cheap subscription - or even stick Hulu-type ads within it - people will go there to get their entertainment cheaply and easily.
OMG, I know. Like, sorry, but we downloaded Sherlock, because we didn't want to wait till May to see it. It was out there, and waiting five months is ridiculous. Will we buy it as soon as the DVD is available? Of course we will. In the meantime, we want to at least see it. If the episodes had been made freely available, I still would end up buying it. If the BBC wanted to put up a website where you could subscribe to all their programs for a flat rate, I'd hit that shit like nobody's business. But no one wants to change their distribution model. They act like it's still a couple decades ago or something. The internet has changed everything - EVERYTHING - and the horse is so long out of the barn at this point that TPTB are a bunch of idiots bleating about closing the door.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2012-01-25 07:15 pm (UTC)Yep. I started watching B5 by checking it out at the library. I had heard it was a good show, and I decided to try it out. It never would have occurred to me to just buy the first season without knowing if I would like it or not. If I hadn't had free access to the show, I never would have watched it.
Of course, I have gone on to buy all five seasons and most of the movies. YET ANOTHER CASE IN POINT.
And the reality is, a lot of people I know end up buying the shows they've downloaded...even if they've downloaded them in full. Because they love them so much and want to rewatch them away from their computer or they want the bonus features or what have you. If people like stuff, they're going to buy it. But for a lot of things, there's no way to know if you like it until you download it.
Exactly! It just seems so obvious, I don't know why they can't understand this. Go after the people who put up all the movies and make money off of it, fine, whatever, but the average person who downloads an episode of TV or the occasional song? Please.
From a television standpoint, what they need to do is make everything available, globally, immediately. This bullshit about airing some things in the UK six months before the US (Downton Abbey, I'm looking at you), and some things in the US six months to a year before the rest of the world (pretty much our entire exported lineup) is ridiculous. People will find a way to watch these shows the day they air in their respective countries. Stop making things available online in country-specific sites; make it global. Stop making things available the day after or the week after; make it immediate. And if you offer it for a relatively cheap subscription - or even stick Hulu-type ads within it - people will go there to get their entertainment cheaply and easily.
OMG, I know. Like, sorry, but we downloaded Sherlock, because we didn't want to wait till May to see it. It was out there, and waiting five months is ridiculous. Will we buy it as soon as the DVD is available? Of course we will. In the meantime, we want to at least see it. If the episodes had been made freely available, I still would end up buying it. If the BBC wanted to put up a website where you could subscribe to all their programs for a flat rate, I'd hit that shit like nobody's business. But no one wants to change their distribution model. They act like it's still a couple decades ago or something. The internet has changed everything - EVERYTHING - and the horse is so long out of the barn at this point that TPTB are a bunch of idiots bleating about closing the door.