The Hollywood studios are taking BT to court. The issue at stake is should BT (and other ISP’s) block users accessing sites that enable piracy. For me the resounding answer is no. Why? The internet is an open network – like the road network people can travel around visit places without some big brother watching what you are doing. You may think that blocking certain sites is all they need to do, but the reality is these sites will reappear with different name and covers. So in order to discover the new sites they will watch what you are doing. The idea is like getting the local authority, that build your roads, to stop you going to a market that sells pirated DVDs.
The sad thing is that the studios see piracy as the reason for the massive fall in sales yet the reality is consumer behaviour is changing with the multiple ways to access and consume content. On-demand services are in their infancy as are connected TV and connected set-top-boxes (STB). So why are people not buying DVD or Bluray Disks (BD). Could it be Hollywood has run out of ideas?
New films are not telling stories consumers want? The global financial slowdown is making people spend less? The existing libraries of DVD/BD that consumers have, is good enough? Could it be that Digital Video Recorders (DVR) enable easy recording of broadcast content, so that when there is nothing good on there is always something on the PVR? And to top it all off, unlike VHS tapes these alternatives don’t wear out and display the content as good as broadcast TV or better.
I would not be surprised if pirate web sites have seen a fall in demand too!
The current consumers of Hollywood content have grown up with computers, broadband and multitasking. They have a short attention span and why watch something again when there is something new. They need to show through their online social network, that they are up with the latest and new.
These are the issues that Hollywood needs to understand and address. UV is also not the answer…
The sad thing is that the studios see piracy as the reason for the massive fall in sales yet the reality is consumer behaviour is changing with the multiple ways to access and consume content. On-demand services are in their infancy as are connected TV and connected set-top-boxes (STB). So why are people not buying DVD or Bluray Disks (BD). Could it be Hollywood has run out of ideas?
New films are not telling stories consumers want? The global financial slowdown is making people spend less? The existing libraries of DVD/BD that consumers have, is good enough? Could it be that Digital Video Recorders (DVR) enable easy recording of broadcast content, so that when there is nothing good on there is always something on the PVR? And to top it all off, unlike VHS tapes these alternatives don’t wear out and display the content as good as broadcast TV or better.
I would not be surprised if pirate web sites have seen a fall in demand too!
The current consumers of Hollywood content have grown up with computers, broadband and multitasking. They have a short attention span and why watch something again when there is something new. They need to show through their online social network, that they are up with the latest and new.
These are the issues that Hollywood needs to understand and address. UV is also not the answer…
