Did you see 24 last night? Me neither. The whole two-night, four-hour premiere is resting nice and snug in our TiVo Series 3. Since there is only so much adrenaline rush “Do it, NOW!” we can take in a single sitting, we will probably watch it in one-hour dollops over the next couple of nights.
So no spoilers, please. Obviously things explode, people die, Jack yells, Chole pouts, Bill frets, Wayne looks better than any Prez ever (just ask Rox), and so on and so forth, but I just don’t want to know why these things happen.
And this year — this week, anyways — I have the extra added comfort in knowing that if my TiVo somehow malfunctioned, I could always run out and buy those four hours on DVD.
We’ve talked about this before, but one of the reasons that 24 has become a hit show, despite being the most serialized show ever — it’s all plot, all of the time, and don’t even blink, because you might miss a nuclear explosion from which there seems to be very little fallout (in any sense) a few hours later — is that FOX has always found a way to help you along if you missed the opening episodes.
This year, they’re throwing DVDs of the first four episodes onto the shelves today. This is cool and everything, but as the LA Times points out:
Fox’s release of the “24” premiere on DVD is as much a promotional device as it is an experiment in collapsing the windows that traditionally separate a show’s network run from its appearance in other formats. The latest “24” DVD will contain the first four hours of the new season plus 12 minutes of the episode that is scheduled to air Monday.
Exactly. Because this isn’t a full season, I don’t really see it as an experiment with the window.
I have a couple of additional problems with it as well.
- I don’t think that it is nearly as effective as showing repeats on, say, FX or FOX News (where it would be their best four hours ever, and also the truest) for the rest of the week.
- It has a shelf-life of exactly one week: until next Monday. Then, if you didn’t watch or record episodes 5 – 24, you’re SOL.
- I have a problem with non-full-season sets of TV shows in general, and in this case, 14.98 is a bit steep. Prorate that out, and you’re talking nearly $90 for a full season. Too much for anything (even HBO shows). So there is a tiny bit of upfront profit taking here. Of course, I guess that they’re trying to make up for the lost ad revenue.
Here’s a off-the-cuff thought: set up a subscription service. For $60, FOX will send you a disc of four episodes every four weeks for the next five months. At the end of the season, they’ll send you the box for the entire season, and when the retail box comes out (a few months later), they’ll send you a disc of the extras.
I’m not sure that this will work, of course — as a consumer, your tradeoff is that you have to wait up to a month for the next installment (and avoid spoilers), but you’ll have the entire season long before the rest of the world does. Meanwhile, FOX gets your DVD money upfront, while the hype surrounding this particular season is at its highest.
My guess is that some of the craziest fans of the show might do this and watch or record the broadcasts as well.
What I don’t understand here is why Fox doesn’t doesn’t stream these on their web site the day after like a lot of new shows are on other networks. If viewers missed it, forgot to tape it, watched the Golden Globes, etc., it’s the perfect way to steer traffic (the DVD numbers are insubstantial in TV viewing terms) to your show, and hook them!
24 – the way TV should be
Current mood: anxious
what RustyG thinks….
24 just got finished up the full 4 hour 2 night premiere and they have already released the first 4 episodes on DVD. This means, what I just watched Sunday night and Monday night are already on DVD. I don’t have to wait over 6 months more for the DVD to be released. As a teaser and a marketing ploy, they give you next week’s teaser before it shows!!! This motivates you to purchase it before next week so that you can see what’s going on!
I absolutely LOVE this idea!!!!! Not only did they include the teaser for next week, but they have included a coupon for $10 off of any season from 1-6, the coupon is good till February 29th, 2008!!!!! This means at the end of this season, I can get $10 off it immediately!!! It also includes all of the other DVDs as well, so that’s cool if you have missed out on any other of the dvds as well.
WHY can’t hollywood get this through their heads. 24 lead the way in this type of television when it first premiered, by making it a show that you HAVE to watch every single week. It gets you hooked.
With over 33 million tuning into the the premieire, and hopefully with the sales of the 24 DVD premiere this will show hollywood to produce their dvds the same day they release other shows or movies for that matter.
This is the first time that I have seen a television show come out the day after on DVD!!!! This totally discouraged me to ‘cough’ ‘cough’ pirate ‘cough’ ‘cough’ the television show. It seemed kind of pointless to waste time downloading the file, if I could go out that night, after midnight and pick it up at my local 24 hour Wal-mart. (I don’t like them, but they are open 24 hours.)
Especially since the DVD was only $8.94 +tax!!!! If they continue to do this, they will continue to get my $8.94! This is multiplied by 6 (4 episodes per disc, 6 discs) for a total of $53.64+tax. That seems to be a good way of gettin their revenue faster and a lot earlier by releasing it day after.
This has also deterred me to ‘cough’ ‘cough’ pirate ‘cough’ ‘cough’ the show as well because I can just go pick it up hours after I just watched it!!!
i understand some people’s skepticism, but I still went out and bought the DVD, it was less than $10 for me.
that’s what RustyG thinks…
You’re right that this isn’t an experiment in collapsing windows, but, well, considering the nature of television seasons, it’s an interesting, shall we say, foray into day-and-date releases. Whether or not it will work depends on the audience’s ability to go shopping in a timely manner. As you say, there is a very short shelf life for these DVDs.
Tim’s point about streaming is well-taken (except, as Tim obviously knows, the additional revenue flowing into Fox coffers has to be sweet). Either they believe that the audience isn’t all that tech savvy or they’re continuing with the Big Media throwing things at the wall and seeing what sticks practice. It’s hard figuring out what people want these days.
Rusty — I’m glad this is working for you. Truly. Because I firmly believe that the key to the future is flexibility. Appointment television doesn’t work for most people. We have to sleep and stuff. If you’re a DVD person, this is perfect — you want to consume the television in a way that’s most comfortable for you — if you’re a download person, Fox should be accommodating you as well. If you’re an appointment television person, well, you’re lucky in that regard.
Choice. Matters.
I’m sorry but (aside: all English people have to apologize for their very existence before making a relevant point), is it just me or does RustyG sound like a plant? This guy has to be a shill for the industry. I have never heard anyone so hard up for the TV industry:
“Especially since the DVD was only $8.94 +tax!!!! If they continue to do this, they will continue to get my $8.94!”
Dude, fess up, you’re a Cylon working for FOX, aren’t you? I’m guessing a number 7. I’m sure Jim knows the model numbers better than me though.
I thought that about Rusty as well, but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt.
There have been other TV Show DVDs that have come out nearly as fast: the Series Finale of Friends came out 5 days after it was aired (which was the first release day, no doubt the best they could do).
Everybody Loves Raymond had their finale out 8 days after it aired.
The question for the Rustys of the world is this: would he buy a single DVD of a single episode every single week?
How cheap would it have to be? After all, one of the things that gave the 24 DVD value was the fact that it was four eps, not a single one.
And also the other question is more for Kassia: could the studios make a swift distrubution model like this profitable without charging $10.00 per week for 20-odd weeks?
DVD of the first episodes is great and all…but, I think things are a little more sinister than that. Anyone having problems recording 24 on their Replay, DVR (Comcast) or TiVo? I set a record on both Replay and DVR. Guess what…neither could record. I have tried to set up a record in advance. Guess what…it won’t work on either system. Now, just so you don’t think I’m a total conspiracy nut, I have 3 DVRs in my house and 1 ReplayTV box. I tried to record 24 on every one! No luck! This is a very interesting way to ensure they sell that DVD.