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Posts tagged distribution

Sep 19
Welcome to the "New World" of Distribution »

Yes: “Many of the rulers of the Old World continue to look backwards. Having spent their entire careers in this realm, played by its rules and succeeded, they can’t see past the limits of their experience. Many of these executives seem unaware of the larger structural changes threatening their world…” [via Spout]

Comments (View)     Tags: hollywood movies distribution web 
Aug 1
Is Hollywood Overestimating Fanboys? »

The Hollywood Reporter looks at the studios’ increasing efforts to cultivate hardcore fans for tentpole releases, and questions the ROI of placing so much emphasis on an “influential” niche.  It’s a solid look at the challenges of properly weighting a campaign, but I reject the notion that “reaching them in the right ways [may be] so elusive and inefficient that it’s not even worth trying”.

If you can’t efficiently appeal to your base, then you’re missing the point — they want to be a part of the process, so simply enable and empower them to do so from the beginning.  The central issue herein is that fanboys alone cannot significantly move the needle for big-budget, mass entertainment; which begs the question: why not endeavor to find efficiency in the production and distribution of entertainment made specifically for such audiences?  Oh wait.

Comments (View)     Tags: Hollywood movies distribution 
Jun 16

Hulu: The Home of Comedy?

Never screen a comedy in a large, stadium-seating megaplex.  Why?  A crowded theater is a petri dish for infectious laughter, and stadium-seating intentionally breaks up the crowd.  Whether you’re in distribution or simply looking for a fix of laughter, comedies are enhanced by a crowded theater with playhouse seating to further the contagious effect.

Now, I wonder, is there a web equivalent of this psuedo-fact?  Compete notes an interesting disparity in the viewership of Hulu vis-à-vis the official sites of its parent networks (NBC/Fox): people are sticking to the networks for drama, but Hulu is quickly becoming the preferred destination for comedy.

The question is “why”.  Obviously network promotion has a lot to do with it, as is evident in the numbers for The Office, which regularly directs viewers back to NBC.com specifically.  Beyond that, however, could it be that Hulu’s user experience (like the sloping theater) is simply a better medium for comedy?  The site’s focus on clips, as well as the ability to easily share and deeplink, may be more than a welcomed feature — it could be the reason that Hulu is primed to succeed in comedy.

If you want to isolate one funny scene, take in the show bit-by-bit throughout the day, or find something that made you laugh more than two years ago — all endemic facets of comedy, which don’t often come into play for a serialized drama — Hulu is apt to deliver.  Of course, the signature of the comedy viewing experience is that it is ALWAYS better in a crowd… short of avatar theater, how will video on the web evolve to create social viewing experiences which actually enhance the experience?

Comments (View)     Tags: video television web distribution Hollywood