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December 03, 2009
NBComcast/Universal
And the wheel goes round and round...
As a movie-side guy, I am oddly non-plused by this purchase.... because I don't expect it to be much of a movie buy... at least for now. Comcast doesn't know its ass from a Arri when it comes to movies. So I expect the changes on that side to be delayed - assuming they ever happen - for at least six months. That is, unless there is a mass bloodbath from Ron Meyer down. And I don't expect that. At least not for a while.
That said, the one area that could get ugly quickly is the release window. Comcast could be cocky and Home Ent focused enough to break down the windows. starting by next summer, and in the process, pushing the doomsday clock of the modern studio system from 8:30p to 11:15p virtually overnight.
Comcast have repeatedly given signals that in its interests, all filmed entertainment is just more content to package and sell. But they also have a tendency to being star fuckers. So we'll see how they balance it.
My hope is that, like President Obama, once they are in office, they will be enlightened about the fiscal realities of breaking down the window system and not start throwing new ideas that sound consumer friendly at the wall to see what sticks.
I do believe the future of post-theatrical, post-sell-thru is going to change a lot and they may quickly become the leaders in that area. Law & Order Network anyone? Universal First-Look Network, where a monthly fee brings you all the studios new movies within 3 months of DVD release and a great parade of the library product in HD?
My only fear, as I wrote, is the overreach... trying to do too much too soon and creating a - can't believe I am saying this - domino effect that will change the price structure of product so quickly and forcefully that the system collapses under its own weight.
Posted by dpoland at December 3, 2009 02:14 PM
Comments
I, for one, have always longed for the day when there would be a Law & Order Network.
Posted by: Joe Leydon ![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.mcnblogs.com/thehotblog/nav-commenters.gif)
at December 3, 2009 04:28 PM
me too. my knowledge of the US criminal justice system is pretty much down to lt. van buren, lennie and jack mccoy. i watch the old re-runs compulsively for some reason
Posted by: leahnz at December 3, 2009 05:03 PM
Did LAW AND ORDER ever do an episode on the failures of the Anti-Trust laws here?
Posted by: christian at December 3, 2009 06:05 PM
I feel bad for the writers of the hugely overrated "30 Rock". It's going to be cringeworthy to watch how they laboriously they work in Comcast gags and the transition of power over this season. Bleh.
Posted by: montrealkid at December 3, 2009 06:57 PM
Kind of funny, I was just listening to a racing show podcast and they were discussing the Comcast/NBC deal. This is kind of good news for the IndyCar series because it has the potential to air on NBC occasionally as opposed to just the somewhat obscure Versus cable channel that Comcast owns. Anyway, they were discussing what it will mean besides big ratings for indycar, and they said they expect it will mean more movies, coming out sooner to television. So I guess that speculation is out there, and I do think that to one degree or another it will play out in shortening the window on some titles.
Posted by: martin at December 3, 2009 07:31 PM
montrealkid got there before me, but does this mean that Shineheart Wigs is selling out?
Posted by: doug r at December 3, 2009 08:32 PM
I think this will be a potentially great merger turned horrible by rules and regulations imposed on it. Much like AOL / Time Warner the basic concept sounds great, but just like back then the best synergies won't be able to be realized because they would probably violate competition laws.
Posted by: ThatAutGuy at December 3, 2009 09:21 PM
ThatAutGuy: Poor media conglomerates.
Posted by: christian at December 3, 2009 09:32 PM
christian: I should have probably clarified: potentially great for them, not necessarily the public.
Posted by: ThatAutGuy at December 3, 2009 09:36 PM
NBC already has an L&O channel called C&I, Crime & Investigation. They probably didn't go with L&O as, IIRC, Dick Wolfe created the show outside of NBC. How the title ownership breaks down now with the whole buying & selling & re-buying of USA Studios which, again IIRC, Wolfe's L&O was originally a part of, is beyond me. In the end, Wolfe would have rights to a piece of the channel in some form, hence C&I.
The best thing to come out of NBCU is the launching of the Universal Monsters site. If Comcast is smart, they'll re-brand Chiller to be the hub for the old Universal horror/sci-fi and get away from the SyFy DTV-UFO Films-AFM bottom barrel-shitonastick programming.
Posted by: Martin S at December 4, 2009 06:26 AM
@martin: Don't look for motor sports on NBC -- Comcast said it is not turning Versus into an ESPN clone. It doesn't help that Versus has been off DirecTV since September in a carriage dispute.
Posted by: Chucky in Jersey at December 5, 2009 07:15 AM
Crime & Investigation? Is that anything like the Sleuth network?
Posted by: Joe Leydon at December 5, 2009 07:28 AM
Joe - C&I is rebranded Sleuth, IIRC.
Posted by: Martin S at December 5, 2009 08:37 AM
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