“Release gap,” the time between the initial movie’s release and that of its DVD. Movie theaters count on this as part of their competitive advantage in attracting ticket sales. However, the very core of this distribution model begins to erode as technology breaks the differentiators between the movie theaters and entertainment at home.
In 2009, the Top 10 Grossing Movies were shown in the theater 53 days. This was up a week over their counter parts for the prior year. However, the release gap in 2009 was 71 days compared to 80 days in 2008. This signals a trend that movie executives are trying to get their DVDs to market while riding the coattails of “sunk” marketing expenditures made on the movies original release. There are a host of other financial objectives far to boring to cover herein, but simply stated to cut this “gap” period in half represents millions of dollars.
In order to eliminate the “gap,” faster methods are needed to bring their movies to market. More and more technologies (partnered separately by Disney, Sony, and others) will soon be introduced, which allows the consumer to own a movie or TV show by redefining ownership as access rights, not physical possession. Consumers pay a single price for permanent access to a movie or TV show across multiple digital platforms. The devices (utilizing Internet access) transmit content to mobile gadgets like iPhones and cable services that allow on-demand viewing. It could also facilitate other services such as online movie subscriptions and more.
As the film industry become more receptive to digital distribution that protects the ownership rights of the movie, another dynamic is altered in the entertainment system.
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