Rethinking Distribution
Today is the release of the film "Bubble" directed by Steven Soderbergh, and with it comes an experiment. Bubble is part of an experiment in releasing movies to theaters and homes at the same time, so it's available for downloading and will be available on DVD in stores on Tuesday. This is a new way in releasing a film, and it has the industry taking note. Where this model may prefer the distributor it does not favor by theater owners. This new distribution model is driven by two things. Technology and economics. On the economic side it is no secret that Hollywood studios receive a substantial amount of revenue from DVD sales and rentals. In 2004 47% of the distribution pie came from DVD's. That's $21.0 billion dollars from DVD sales and rentals alone. The other parts of the pie came from pay TV (9%), Television (28%), and theater distribution, which was 16%. On the technology side it is now possible to reach more people digitally then through other conventional