Online video opportunities are helping extend the life of movies but are not "fundamentally" changing the traditional movie distribution structure, according to Brian Walsh, manager of the digital/on-demand team for Lionsgate.
The movie studio mogul, speaking during the first day of Streaming Media West in Los Angeles, noted that online video affords opportunities for older content that may be sitting on shelves but "the new technology isn't changing the way people watch," according to a story in StreamingMedia.com.
"I don't think fundamentally anything's changing," Walsh said, noting that theatrical release, pay TV and DVD still provide the big part of studio revenue and that new content discovery and long tail opportunities from the likes of Netflix (Nasdaq: NFLX) just make it easier for viewers to find older content.
"It's changing the length of time that things are on the shelf," he said.
Walsh also said he is experimenting with cord-cutting--in other words, he's not a cable/satellite/telco subscriber--and the experiment isn't working out all that well because online offers lack "a specificity of content" so viewers such as he can't just turn on the TV and know what they're going to watch.
It can also get pricey, he said, because buying a la carte adds up quickly.
Nevertheless, he concluded, "I think it's a good experiment to try for a while."
For more:
- StreamingMedia.com has this story
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