When Will I be Able to Watch Greyhound?

[Ben]

Or other movies sold to certain streaming services?

I haven't figured out how this works. In the Greyhound example, it was sold to AppleTV, which I'm not subscribing to. Does that mean it may NEVER go to DVD or other services (NEVER being in the next year or two, I'm sure in ten years, it'll be available everywhere... maybe)?

I just read that they are shopping the new Bond movie around for streaming purchase. It's gonna suck if the new normal is that new movies will only be available on certain services, and that you will have to continually subscribe and unsubscribe to who knows how many discrete streaming services to watch individual movies.

Seems like a better model would be for the studios to "lease" it to several streaming services, and you just pay ten bucks or whatever to watch the new release movie whether you're on Netflix, Apple, or whoever. That would be more similar to how they send movies to meatspace theaters, and seems like it would create more profit for the studios while allowing many more people easier access to their movies.

[Fly320s]

Does that mean it may NEVER go to DVD or other services

Yes, that is what it means.

It really all depends on what the contract says.  I doubt any movie studio wants to limit their releases to only one service/outlet, but they also want to recover their money in a timely manner.  Selling Greyhound to Apple may allow the studio to get a return on their money quicker than allowing Greyhound to go to Apple, Netflix, Amazon, and DVD.  Also, I bet Apple said they need sole rights for a certain amount of time to recover their investment.  My uneducated guess is that Greyhound will be available on other services in a year or two.

There are a bunch of movies and shows that I want to watch that are on services that I won't subscribe to.  I'll wait or just not watch them.  Not a big deal to me. 

It also bothers me that Amazon charges an extra fee above and beyond their Prime fee for certain shows.  I don't pay for those, either.

[Ben]

It also bothers me that Amazon charges an extra fee above and beyond their Prime fee for certain shows.  I don't pay for those, either.

I don't mind waiting a year, as long as whatever I want to watch eventually migrates out of whatever "sole rights" service. It would suck if Greyhound, for example, never left Apple. That is one of my fears with the new "everyone has a streaming service" craze.

On the Amazon, this has become increasingly irritating to me. I don't care if Amazon has tons of show you have to pay for, but if they advertise them as Prime, they should be included with my Prime membership. I just saw the other day that they had the campy "Space 1999" on prime. So I watched episode 1. Then I went to episode 2 and a "subscribe to [service I'd never heard of] popped up. I also went to watch Corner Gas on Prime, and now it is "Prime IMDB" which means you have to sit through mandatory commercials. Again, if I subscribe to Prime, I expect it to be commercial free.

They are doing the same with Prime music. I constantly, of late, am watching all my Prime music disappear off my devices (well, getting greyed out), and then getting messages telling me to pay to subscribe to Unlimited.

[Fly320s]

They are doing the same with Prime music. I constantly, of late, am watching all my Prime music disappear off my devices (well, getting greyed out), and then getting messages telling me to pay to subscribe to Unlimited.

Google is doing similar with Play Music.  Google has officially killed Google Play Music.  My options are to switch to Youtube Music, which sucks, or download all of my purchased music to my PC and make my own music playlists the old fashioned way.

I hate subscription services, but I will use one if it benefits me.  Subscription music services don't benefit me at all.  Especially when I am required to have an internet connection to listen to my own music. 

[ConstitutionCowboy]

Now that I'm retired, I rarely have time to sit and watch a complete movie. DVD's work just fine for me because I can stop and start whenever I choose.

That subscription service is just to expensive and limiting. I watch some movies over and over like some people will listen to a favorite song over and over, and relying on a subscription service might mean that a vavorite movie I enjoy year after year might not be available over time.

Woody

[WLJ]

Netflix has it listed in their on disc movie section but with an unknown release date

[Big Hairy Bee]

Soap2day.to is your safe friend for Greyhound.

[Ben]

or download all of my purchased music to my PC and make my own music playlists the old fashioned way.

This is what I have slowly been doing. It's a bit more time consuming for making playlists and stuff, but at least I know that my music that I paid for is MY music.

[Fly320s]

Soap2day.to is your safe friend for Greyhound.

Soap2day has a ton of virus issues.

[Big Hairy Bee]

Soap2day has a ton of virus issues.

I haven't detected any viruses, but every now and then pop ups are an issue.  Use my browser on my smart TV without issue.  Sister and her husband use it without issue as well. 

[dogmush]

Your options are the same as they have ever been.  Pay the holder of the rights what they want to watch it, or pirate it.

It's semi annoying that some of the stuff you want to watch ends up on the "wrong" streaming, but it's really no different than some cool movies being on HBO or Cinemax and not basic cable.

I turn HBO streaming on and off for a month at a time when they have shows I want to watch.  You can turn Apple on for a month, then unsubscribe.   Or Pirate Bay is still a thing.

[charby]

Isn't capitalism great?

[MechAg94]

I have heard predictions that this will get to the point of breaking Hollywood. Without the blockbuster theater revenue, there won't be anyone spending hundreds of millions to make movies anymore.  I figure it will all still be there, but not quite as big and maybe more spread out.

[WLJ]

I have heard predictions that this will get to the point of breaking Hollywood. Without the blockbuster theater revenue, there won't be anyone spending hundreds of millions to make movies anymore.  I figure it will all still be there, but not quite as big and maybe more spread out.

Stop making $300 million crap movies that consist mostly of crappy fake looking CGI with stupid single digit IQ plots would help

[K Frame]

I'm pretty sure that AMC either just declared bankruptcy, or they said they're close to it.

OK, yeah, they announced that it's distinctly possible...

https://movieweb.com/amc-theatres-investors-bankruptcy/

[Ben]

Slight tangent, but apparently Amazon is currently involved in a lawsuit with them arguing that purchased video does not belong to the purchaser.

When an Amazon Prime Video user buys content on the platform, what they're really paying for is a limited license for “on-demand viewing over an indefinite period of time” and they're warned of that in the company's terms of use. That's the company's argument for why a lawsuit over hypothetical future deletions of content should be dismissed.

If that's the route they want to go, then fine, they're a private company. However, "purchase" is then misleading. You are renting the video for an indeterminate amount of time. It should be made clear by Amazon that you are not buying a product, which the current language implies. When I "buy" a streaming video on Amazon, I expect it to be the same as buying the DVD, which ironically, is often cheaper than the streaming alternative.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/amazon-argues-users-dont-actually-own-purchased-prime-video-content

[Ron]

I recall a similar argument being made regarding Kindle content.