TV DVDs Taking Over Movies?

I've visited a few retailers over the past little while and noticed something strange: DVD box sets for TV shows are placed front and centre of the store, with new release movies few and far in between. Why?

Are TV shows on DVD becoming more popular? Is this a way to make them more popular in the wake of things like on-demand movies that could be cutting into DVD sales? Or perhaps it's just a sales tactic since the holiday season is slowly creeping up on us? After all, DVD box sets are fairly popular among the gift-giving crowd.

Maybe it's also the result of a lot of successful TV shows coming out of the woodwork, like my favourite Dexter and other popular shows like Mad Men, The Office, and The Sopranos. Many of these are also broadcast on subscription-based networks, so it's likely that a lot of people wait until a series is released on DVD and then watch it that way instead of subscribing to the extra channels for a monthly fee. In fact, a friend of mine the other day told me of plans for a Lost party: he purchased the first two seasons on DVD, and a group of people were going to get together and watch it. It makes sense: you can watch an entire season in an 8-hour or so timeframe, and not have to even bother skipping through commercials because there are none!

Could TV on DVD be becoming yet another new way that people consume entertainment? After all, why wait a week to watch what's going to happen to the guy that Tony supposedly got whacked, or to find out what happens with Mike and Susan on Desperate Housewives? The one drawback to this, of course, is that you can't watch a season until it comes out on DVD, which is often long after the episodes have actually aired. If it's a really popular show, it would be tough to ignore all the media reports and water-cooler conversations that reveal what happens. But if you're able to wait it out, why not?

But back to my original observation. Maybe it's that there haven't been enough Blockbuster movies to warrant a huge new release section. While there have been a handful of popular movie titles as of late (Dark Knight immediately comes to mind), there have also been a lot of box office flops.

Either way, while I have never purchased a DVD box set of any kind for myself (I watch enough live TV as it is!) the rearrangement in store certainly engaged me, so I guess it's working to some degree. I found a few shows that I know won Emmys and considered picking them up to give them a try. Now all we need is Blu-ray TV show box sets, and we're in business!

MySpace Targets Canada; Again, Canadians Get the Short End of the Stick

Even if you haven’t visited MySpace before, you would have had to be living under a rock for the past few years to not know what it is. Now, the creators of this widely popular social networking Website have officially launched a dedicated Canadian MySpace site at ca.myspace.com.

The site, offered in both official languages, promotes Canadian music and artists, like Billy Talent. Advertising is also targeted to Canadians; and, according to the Globe & Mail, there are pending deals with Canadian mobile carriers to deliver MySpace to cell phones.

MySpace isn’t just targeting Canada: the company, which is owned by media behemoth News Corp., plans to roll out dedicated sites with local content all over the world, and has already made moves in China, Latin America, and South America.

This is a great idea, providing users in each country and region with a bit of local flavour while we communicate and surf. However, it also poses the same issues that arise with sites like iTunes, and major U.S. TV networks: when it comes to some really cool content, those outside of the U.S. end up getting the short end of the stick.

News Corp. and NBC are offering TV programming which can be viewed via MySpace. Great! But Canadian users can’t view it due to licensing rights. Not so great. This isn’t MySpace’s fault, but it really ticks me off. Why can’t Canada step up and realize that offering such content won’t damage our own culture?

I missed an episode of Ugly Betty a few months back, and stupidly forgot to PVR it, so I logged on to ABC.com and noticed a link that read “watch Ugly Betty online.” Alright! I clicked on it, and up came a notice: “Only viewers within the United States can watch these full-length episodes.” What?? Another fav show of mine is Showcase’s Dexter. Upon trying to access the Showcase Website, the following message popped up on-screen: SORRY! We at Showtime Online express our apologies; however, these pages are intended for access only from within the United States. Argh. So not only am I unable to view the TV episodes online, but now I can’t even see the Website! On the bright side, at least they were polite about it.

I can’t comprehend why I can watch an American TV show on my television via my Canadian cable or satellite provider; yet I am unable to watch this same show online? The same issue occurs across all types of technology. I am required to have access to special Canadian channels on my Sirius satellite radio that I never tune into at the expense of U.S. channels that I might have actually listened to?

And we wonder why the piracy rates are so high in Canada!

My point: we need to move ahead in the digital content arena, or offerings like MySpace’s dedicated Canadian site will continue to turn the meaning of “targeted” into “restrictive”.