In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

18 1 ▶ COMING SOON TO A COMPUTER NEAR YOU Digital Delivery and Ubiquitous Entertainment In an interview discussing the closure of all of the Blockbuster VideostoresinCanada,KaanYigit,presidentofSolutionsResearchGroup,commented that “this is the Netflix decade for movies. Kids growing up will hardly ever know there was a time you actually went to a store to get a movie.”1 Yigit’s comments underscored the perceived mobility of movies and television shows across a variety of platforms and devices, a shift that seemed to make trips to the video store unnecessary. These changes in film distribution—formerly associated with physical copies of DVDs sold at big-box retailers or rented from local video stores—have altered not only the economics of the movie industry but also the perceived value of movies themselves, creating even deeper interconnections between the movie industry and digital hubs such as Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Facebook. At the same time, the role of retailers such as Walmart, Target, and Best Buy is changing dramatically. Rather than just selling physical media, Walmart has been making a gradual effort to position itself in the digital marketplace, both through its digital delivery service, Vudu, and its participation in a cloud-based movie storage service, UltraViolet.Yet, even though the electronics and entertainment industries have made significant efforts to promote digital delivery, the persistence of the DVD as a format cannot be underestimated . As of 2011, 92 million homes continued to have at least one DVD or Blu-Ray player, with two-thirds of those homes having more than one. Another 46 million homes had video game consoles that could play DVDs. Finally, digital delivery accounted for only 13 percent of home video spending in 2010, suggesting that physical media remain a preferred way for people to watch movies.2 Coming Soon to a Computer near You 19 What has changed is the perceived concept and value of the textual artifact, whether that is a movie or television show. This shift in perspective is shaped by the increased mobility associated with digital delivery and the speed with which texts now circulate (or in some cases fail to circulate) across digital platforms. In this sense, platform mobility alters not only the economics of the film industry but also the practices of consumers seeking a few minutes’ entertainment. This chapter explores the ways in which digital delivery reworks traditional models of distribution. Any account that seeks to explain these transitions comes up against a number of terminological difficulties. Although it would be tempting to describe digital movie delivery as “post-theatrical,” the use of day-and-date distribution, in which movies are released simultaneously in theaters , on DVD, and through video-on-demand (VOD), complicates any strict distribution timeline. More crucially, the timing and location of distribution is altered, as trips to the video store or movie theater are replaced by a variety of delivery mechanisms that allow users to purchase or rent movies anytime and anywhere, producing new forms of audience mobility. However, even while digital delivery services offer promises of ubiquitous access, there are a number of significant limits that constrain when and where users can watch movies. Thus, while this chapter surveys the variety of formats and distribution patterns that have emerged in the era of digital delivery, I am also conscious of the degree to which new delivery models may not fulfill every promise of access, convenience, and affordability. In addition, I am attentive to the fact that digital delivery is not an entirely new practice. Although it has become more viable thanks to increasingly fast broadband, the widespread acceptance of platform mobility is the result not merely of technological factors but also of cultural changes. These changes are most commonly associated with a transformed infrastructure , in which the internet has become a site for renting, purchasing, and downloading movies, often for instantaneous viewing. These distribution practices came to include a range of methods—streaming video, digital downloads, electronic sell-through (EST), and VOD—and many services also offered “digital lockers” that would allow customers to store movies in the cloud, so that they would no longer have to worry about losing a physical copy or about seeing an older format sink into obsolescence. These services have been affiliated with a wide range of online retailers, video sharing sites, and social networking hubs, as well as being available as applications through mobile devices such as cell phones and iPads. As a result, users’ modes of access have changed considerably...

Share