Arang and the Magistrate: currently running in Korea, with episodes appearing on Hulu only a couple days after they air in Korea.
I sound like I’m boasting, but that’s not what I’m meaning to do. For good or bad Hollywood/America is the entertainment ideal, and making it here seems to be considered the pinnacle of success. If nothing else, my experience watching and reading about Korean drama has taught me that many Korean music and television companies really want to break into the American market. By making their shows available on Hulu right away, they’re able to do so in the most widespread fashion possible.
If these companies are ever able to get their content on our television or movie screens, I don’t think they’d hesitate to do it. I love kdramas and I’d like them to be more popular in America. I realize that if they ever are, my free access to dozens of kdramas might disappear behind a subscription wall. But it would be worth it, because it would mean greater American recognition for shows and movies made in other countries.
The same is even true with Doctor Who on BBC America. Up until season 5, episodes of the show ran on Syfy months after they aired in the U.K. It’s fantastic that we’re getting the show right away now, except that not everyone is. My father, for example, used to watch Doctor Who when it aired, but he doesn’t anymore. He doesn’t want to have to pay for a premium digital cable package with BBC America just so he can watch one television show.
That’s the trick with the forward steps taken by BBC America: we’ve traded cheaper access for sooner access. The BBC is willing to make the swap because now they’re seeing more revenue go directly to them, via their American arm, instead of to a deal with a separate channel/media conglomerate.
People like my dad, though, don’t mind waiting until Doctor Who trickles down to cheaper channels or onto DVD shelves at the library. The Internet media debate has often centered on devoted fans who want access to their shows right away, who spend enough time on the Internet that they’ll be spoiled if they’re not up on the latest episodes. We’re the type who might be willing to pay more to get things right away.
Even if international media companies are giving us access for their own reasons, to break into or expand in the American market, the bottom line for us still hasn’t changed that much: we’re getting more international media, sooner. Piracy is what first alerted many of these companies to the fact that they do have an audience based in America, and that the Internet is the platform for that audience.
Piracy changed something. In many cases media companies have reacted to it by locking down access to their content: that certainly seems to be the stance Hollywood is taking. But that’s not across the board: in a few cases, including some big ones (case in point: Doctor Who), our access to international media is growing.
I’m not sure where things will go from here. In terms of American content, we have a long way to go, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it gets worse before it gets better. But it’s not without hope: change is inevitable, even if it takes a while, and the success international content is having might help speed the process. Seeing other companies have success on the Internet, or using the Internet as a testing ground for wider audiences, might slowly convince Hollywood to do so as well.
Nodame Cantabile: The Final Score. It felt like it took ages to be made available for English-speaking audiences, but it was humbling to be on the other side of the wait.
The key is patience and perseverance. After all, some of these changes are only happening in America. What about fans in other, smaller countries, waiting for access (or even just fan subs) to trickle down to them? I’ve been there; I love Nodame Cantabile, a Japanese manga- turned anime- turned live-action drama. The drama inspired two in-theater movies, but I had to wait several months, until I was given access to them.
We might argue that everyone around the world ought to get the same instant access to all media, but do we really expect that to happen, especially at the speed at which it’s happening in America? It’s worth it to remember that, and to try to be patient waiting for change.
I’m able to do so because, for the reasons I’ve outlined, I’m feeling optimistic. At least half of my media consumption is international, and in the past two years I’ve gotten greater, quicker access to that content. I like to think that one day, someone in Hollywood will pay attention to the success of international media on the Internet. He or she will realize that many pirates would stream content legally, if it was of high-quality and delivered on demand. Maybe, just maybe, one day Hollywood will catch on. The future is changing, sometimes for the better, and we have piracy to thank.
Don’t agree at all, or think I’m crazy? Or have you noticed subtle gains forward as well? Share in the comments.
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Living in a Now now now society we American’s don’t notice our underdeveloped virtue of patience. We typically get movies first, shows first, albums first. I remember when the Avengers came out internationally first before the American premier, I was very anxious to see the movie and talked myself out of downloading a pirated file of it. My reasoning behind not pirating is mostly that the quality of a pirated show or movie or album is going to suck. I also have pretty much convinced myself that the world is cruel and everything has a virus.
One of the few things you can get pirated ahead of time is music because what winds up happening is that the album is sent to stores in advance, an employee of said store takes the album home and uploads it. That is if the album wasn’t uploaded by the band to boost sales, someone working the soundboard, someone working in the factory, someone working in the shipping warehouse, etc. Music is easy. But, the thing about music is that if you wait for the day it’s supposed to come out you have your three options: You can get the physical midnight release if permitted, you can download it at midnight, or you can pick up a copy or download it at your leisure.
When I was writing up the reviews for Doctor Who I had to wait. I had to wait for it to air here in America and then I had to wait later for it to be uploaded to my choice of internet viewing service (I use Amazon, they’re pretty quick on the uploading, my friend uses Zune and still has yet to get the fifth episode). And like I said, waiting sucks.
A friend of mine and text me an hour before the last episode asking if I had seen it. I told her no because it hadn’t aired here yet. She said she pirated it from the UK where it had already aired; she had already seen it.
I was a little offended/annoyed/angry because I was waiting while other people were already talking about it. And I don’t have Tivo or anything that records TV so what if I had missed the episode due to work? I would have to wait (if I didn’t have Amazon) for either a rerun or DVD.
Oftentimes we’ll also see movies hit pay-per-view before it even goes to theaters. This again, is for the tactic of generating word of mouth advertising that will help to boost the sales. Most of the time though, movies get a midnight release and then air several times throughout the day to draw you in at your leisure.
What I think should happen is that movies and TV shows should follow what music is doing: Provide more options.
Give me the option of either waiting for it to air, or downloading it same day as airing via commercial free pay-per-view or with a commercial free season pass. If you go a free route do what Hulu does and inject 2-3 30 second commercials so you can earn your money from investors.
I bring up the commercial investors bit because I understand that that is how you make your money on air and that commercials are part of everyday TV. I also bring it up because I know several people who don’t have cable, just internet and they watch shows buy either Netflix or Hulu on their devices. But such is modern life: we’re moving away from 8-5 jobs and being home and awake until 10. Most people work jobs that don’t have set shifts, that work late, that stay up later or sleep during the day. The TV schedule is outdated and if TV doesn’t realize that then TV will be outdated.
Web only shows or movies like The Guild or Dr. Horrible, prove that you can be a success outside of classic TV because they embrace the modern and digital age. When the episode of The Guild or Husbands air, I can watch it as soon as it goes up, or whenever I have the time. To further support them I can donate, purchase t-shirts and posters, buy DVD versions or even pay for premium content if they’re releasing the main portions for free.
IDK, I think I’m running in circles and have exhausted my point. But, yeah, I think if TV shows embraced same day digital release, be it Hulu with commercials or commercial free season pass, they’d might see the piracy of their content die down without enforcing strict and invasive internet laws.
I agree on all counts. Our culture is definitely must-have, right-away. And when I write that, I start to feel guilty. I feel like we are losing the value of patience, and also, how arrogant are we to demand that we have everything right away? That’s the point I was trying to make with Nodame: it was in theaters in various countries in Asia, then when the DVD came out in Asia the movie made it online, but subtitles in English took even longer, and region-free copies of the DVD’s longer still. And part of me was like: ugh! I can’t believe I have to wait this long, this is ridiculous!
And then I thought, what if I’m a fan in some little country and I only speak my language, and so I have to wait ages for the same, for Hollywood shows? Would I still be so impatient, or does part of me react like that because of my American sense of entitlement? And if I, as an American, am demanding same-day access, would I demand the same for everyone all over the world, do I really realistically believe or expect that to happen?
We are impatient. It’s not like there aren’t other shows or movies I could watch, albums I could listen to, books I could read, that I haven’t experienced before, that I can experience while I’m waiting for something to come out. Maybe I should spend less time online, then I don’t have to worry about being behind the crowd in having seen something.
But also, like you said, I believe that Hollywood is adhering to such an outdated business model, and they just have to change it fast. It’s more than Hollywood, it’s advertising; advertisers will still pay more for a commercial on prime time television than they will for an ad on hulu for the same program. I 100% believe that that will change, that everything is increasingly going to go online, or away from the idea of prime time television, but we’re in that transitional period right now and it SUCKS. I can only hope it will go away and the business model will be changed sooner rather than later, but I’m afraid it won’t be. Sigh.
And yet, like I said, I’m feeling optimistic. Because, if nothing else, as I pointed out, half of the stuff I watch is international and it’s getting easier and easier for me to get that online legally. And I can’t help but, even if it’s stubborn, hoping that such successes might help Hollywood move along a bit faster as well.