Hollywood Shouldn't Fear the Internet

Viewers will flock to online movie downloads: Economist
By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 22, 2008 9:42 PM CST
Hollywood Shouldn't Fear the Internet
Blockbuster CEO James Keyes poses in the corporate offices in Dallas, Thursday, Nov. 1, 2007. Customers, he said, will someday soon go to kiosks in Blockbuster stores to burn movies on to a disk or download them directly to a portable device such as a phone or flash drive. Keyes is determined to position...   (Associated Press)

Hollywood is ignoring the public's desire to download films at its own peril, the Economist reports. It's no surprise that studios are sticking to their business model, especially with huge DVD profits, but the industry could reap fine earnings from downloads. Meanwhile, pirate sites like the surprisingly spiffy ZML.com are reaping the benefits.

What's more, a first-time DVD sales drop last year may signal that the DVD boom is over. And despite the hurdles—the time it takes to download a film, the preference of viewers for TV over computers—Hollywood should consider the gains of truly effortless, universal access to online video stores with endless capacity. (More DVD stories.)

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