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!

Media Convergence is a Reality

The convergence of all sorts of media, from TV to print to online, and even radio, is an undeniable reality. But ever so often, I'll experience something that really opens my eyes to how much crossing over is actually taking place, in large part, due to emerging technologies. This time, my eye-opening experience came from two e-newsletters about a pair of my favourite TV programs, both of which appear on the pay-TV Showtime network.

The primary purchase of each e-newsletter was to advise me that the new season would begin in September. But this wasn't the only focus: I was also informed on the many ways I could catch up on or review older episodes. The first method was one I already know about: watching them on-demand through my cable TV provider. Of course, I can also purchase the first season on DVD at my local retailer; or pre-order the second season DVD. But other, not-so-typical options included downloading the first two seasons on iTunes (U.S. customers only, of course); and joining the official Facebook fan page. So while the e-mail clearly advises that Showtime is the only place I'll be able to access the new season once it starts in September, the network has found multiple ways to keep me engaged before then, as well as monetize its existing product.

In a separate newsletter for the second show, the options became even more tech-savvy. I was told about things like a behind-the-scenes blog; and a neat Wiki where fans can do things like write their own episode guides, add to character profiles, and add images or stats on the actors.

It's a far cry from the days when I would handwrite a fan letter and mail it to an actor I had a crush on, only to receive a photocopied letter and signed photo in the mail 6-8 weeks later. Now, avid TV watchers can actively interact with the shows, and have multiple ways to catch up on old episodes. This emphasizes not just the rapid convergence of media industries, but also the reason why: consumers want choice in the way they interact with and consume content. I won't be entering any Wiki information, nor downloading episodes via iTunes (even if I could). But knowing that the options are there, and that people who do prefer those methods can engage in them, is satisfying in itself.