Piffey

Both ArsTechnica and The Wall Street Journal are reporting on major studios that have begun toying with their digital release models. Studios have always been hesitant to jump into the pool of digital content and prefer to test the water before running away screaming.

However, as profits of DVD sales continue to decline they find themselves being pushed toward a digital release market. Video-On-Demand services and online content providers like Hulu are seeing content arrive faster with some shows having their digital airing date as early as the day after.

Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs from Sony Pictures has made the digital copy of the film available before its January 5th DVD release date and Showtime is already selling episodes of “Weeds” weeks before the season DVDs are available in stores.

With many digital products there is the issue of tangibility and value where consumers are concerned. Without owning something they can physically mutilate, consumers often have a hard time justifying the product’s value. Somehow the film industry has managed to sidestep this problem; possibly due to the increasing number of computers and media centers attached to televisions.

Apparently people don’t mind owning ephemeral digital content where movies are concerned since numbers show people are willing to pay for the early digital releases. This is an excellent sign for the film industry as they are able to avoid the hurtle facing other content suppliers switching to digital formats.

While no studio is releasing DRM-free formats at this time, several are offering their content for free online (which is the best we could ask for). This free content produces a healthy Internet buzz that has shown to help a show’s popularity over the long term — making the digital format an integral part of a show’s survivability in an oversaturated television market.

As people view more of their daily media through computers there will undoubtably come a time when the physical copy of something is nothing more than a nostalgia — something I still find myself unable to judge. Tangibility is slowly becoming a quaint thing of the past, but I believe that as the film studios finally embrace the digital content revolution they will only find themselves profiting more than ever before.