captveg wrote:If I was TT, I'd consider these Fox titles as "loss leader" for their "store".
I wonder why they don't attempt to reach more attractive licensing arrangements with someone like Sony? It appears as though Sony is providing access to titles like Fright Night and As Good As It Gets in part due to the same "loss leader" mentality in order to offset titles that don't sell as much or quickly (TT mentioned Fright Night didn't originally interest them and weren't sure if it was something that fit the model they had in mind but I imagine that changed quickly when it became apparent how titles like those benefit the line as a whole).
That TT is licensing things up front and requires, based on what I thought others said they have been quoted saying, that they sell somewhere around 2000 copies to break even on their costs, that model and price point only works when they consistently sell more than that amount and in a decent time frame.
I can see why it works well for Sony, quicker money/less effort, and toss in a title here and there (that would have to sell closer to 5 figures via traditional retail methods to recoup the amount of upfront licensing fees they are offering them at anyway) that ensures a quicker max amount of sales in order to keep the arrangement going but it seems like a counterproductive arrangement for TT and customers.
TT absorbs more risk than others seem to have licensing arrangements at (presumably anyway since a number of other licensed titles, from everything to very low profile to cult to higher profile titles seem to be routinely be made available via other distributors, retailers, etc. without the limited sales model and MSRP only pricing) and they then need to increase typical end customer price points in order to ensure the model long term.
Which perhaps is the point. Studios like Sony aren't losing anything in the short term but are also attempting to train customers of higher price points in order to solidify things like future tiered streaming options or $5 streaming rentals. Kind of like what is going on at Walmart. Bring discs in and for $2-$5 then can access owned disc titles online. $1-2 rentals or ~$20 per month all in one plans might be an obstacle to that success.