Movies on the Internet - Good for Us, Bad for Them?
You're watching TV one evening scanning through the reruns thinking
it's pathetic how little there is to watch anymore when a fantastic
movie trailer comes on. It's everything you love - the right actors,
the wit, the action - and your heart beats a little faster in
anticipation - if only you could watch it RIGHT NOW!
Well, the film industry has heard you. Along with the speed of the
internet, consumers have now come to a new stage of demand. It used to
be that we WANTED everything immediately - now we EXPECT it.
This is not the sort of thing that goes unnoticed by industries that
cater to public reception. And now it has been announced that we may
not be far away from simply walking over to our computer and
downloading the newest releases.
During a meeting at the Cannes Film Festival, Culture Ministers from
across Europe, film industry representatives and Internet Service
Providers were among those who met to discuss the possible policies
needed to distribute movies online.
BBC news reports European Union media commissioner Viviane Reding as
stating: "In Europe, as in other continents, the opportunities for
people to enjoy films online are set to increase tremendously over the
next few years".
Naturally there are still many issues to be resolved before movies are
readily available to the public online. Piracy and broadband
capabilities are still being questioned.
Piracy became the prominent issue when music files were being illegally
shared over the internet. While the music industry fought against such
services as Napster, they are still far from recovering their market
revenue and the film industry is not anxious to join them.
What can't be debated is that there IS a market, and no industry likes
to bypass that because of possible problems.
Right now European broadband may not be up to the task of downloading
such large files but has plans to proceed with distribution soon.
In America there has already been movie distribution with the
inevitable legal proceedings against individuals facilitating
unauthorized downloads.
Although the fight against piracy is being taken very seriously by the
industry, it is still parents who are at the forefront of setting the
example and instructing children on the ethics of downloading such
material. Responsibility is learned.
In any event, the next time you see a great movie advertised and you
are handy to the internet, perhaps you should stay in, avoid the lines
and the traffic and check it out online!