'Meatballs' on TV: Only $25!
Filed under: Animation, Sony, Exhibition, Family Films, Home Entertainment
The war for your wallet may be shifting from DVD stores to your living room. Just yesterday, our own Jessica Barnes described the price war between Walmart, Target and Amazon as the three retailers have temporarily slashed their profits and passed the savings on to you. Now comes word that Sony will pre-empt retailers by making their animated hit Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs available exclusively to owners of selected Sony television sets and networked Blu-ray players more than a month before it's released on DVD. Sony, however, expects you to slash your savings and pass the profits on to them, charging $24.95 for a rental. That's a big chunk of change for a pay-per-view movie, dramatically higher than cable and satellite systems charge for pay-per-view flicks in their window of availability before DVD and Blu-ray release. Details from a business standpoint are provided in The New York Times -- the higher price is meant to avoid angering Walmart, the largest and thus most powerful DVD retailer in the country, and the move is part of Sony's strategy to leverage its ownership of both hardware (TVs, Blu-ray players) and software (movies, television) production. I'm sure Sony shareholders will be pleased.
What about the consumer? In his Home Theater blog for ZDNET, Sean Portnoy wonders: "In this economy, is being able to rent this successful movie a few weeks ahead of the masses really worth an extra $20? In fact, if you're using Netflix or renting at $1 per night through Redbox, the pricing difference is even starker." Sony tried this last year with Will Smith and Hancock, but economic times are even more difficult now. Will you pay $25 for Meatballs?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-10-2009 @ 1:03PM
Reuben said...
That's rich.
Reply
11-10-2009 @ 1:22PM
okie said...
I wouldn't waste 20 cent on it. besides you could always wait a day and download a pirated copy.
Reply
11-10-2009 @ 1:36PM
Philpott said...
Or we could all be asshats and download pirated copies together.
11-10-2009 @ 5:02PM
okie said...
WORKS FOR ME
11-10-2009 @ 1:28PM
mark5four0 said...
It's crazy... like a fox. The only reason I can think that they would do this is as a marketing ploy. They know that nobody would ever rent this movie at this price, but they are getting people to talk about the possibility of being able to rent movies on their blu-ray players.
Reply
11-10-2009 @ 2:47PM
Felicia said...
It sucks. Many people won't pay half that to see it in the theaters but they might pay that amount to watch it at home just a few weeks earlier than others? Stupid!
Reply
11-10-2009 @ 2:47PM
techstar25 said...
You know, I really wish we could un-invent digital media.
Twenty years from now, you will all agree with me, when CDs and DVDs are no longer made and the only way to hear, play or watch anything is by renting the "ones and zeros" for 24 hours at a time. Since you won't be able to acquire your media on the used market, you'll have to pay whatever the studios want.
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