Geoblocking Revisited
I came across an interesting article by Daisy Whitney "International Market a Growing Opportunity for Web Series". In the article, she wrote:
"The international distribution strategy for “Gemini Division” underscores a growing opportunity for Web producers. Licensing a Web show to a foreign country is an additional revenue stream for ad-supported shows—and it’s often the one that helps them turn a profit."The majority of her article explained out the reasoning behind this point though she did add the caveat that international windowing wasn't for everyone with the following illustration :
When producer-actor Felicia Day partnered with Microsoft-Xbox last month to sponsor her Web show “The Guild,” the deal called for distribution in Xbox regions worldwide with the show subtitled in eight languages.Though the illustration was a side note to Daisy Whitney's main point, I thought that Felicia Day's question was an interesting one to examine. I too would love to see global release of new media.
'The Internet is global. Why treat it like old media?' she (Felicia Day) asked. 'If someone from France can click and read the text on your site, why lock them from the video?'
“The Internet is global. Why treat it like old media?”
However, I don't think the question does the issue justice. Particularly so because geoblocking appears to closely parallel DVD region coding which also:
1) Targets a global audience and,One could ask the question, "DVD players are global, why treat them like old media by limiting them according to region?" (I Love DVD has an informative article on DVD region coding.)
2) The primary reason for limiting DVD release by region was return on investment.
I think tiered international release (Geoblocking) does ultimately boil down to return on investment as well as philosophy. However, with new media there is a significant new element over and against DVD distribution and region coding. That new element being that small startups can now produce and compete at a level that they couldn't in the past.
In this new playing field,
Small startups without connections to those who broker international distribution rights may be more likely to release globally to the web.Ultimately, both philosophies may be able to consistently achieve profit due to the Long Tail marketability of new media. If a production company can consistently carve out a niche portion of the global international audience in a way that provides for return on investment they will succeed for the long haul.
Larger production companies with connections and who utilize prominent actors/actresses (higher overhead), may be more likely to release in a tiered international fashion.
So far Electric Farm Entertainment is doing just that.
That said, I think the Holy Grail is to come up with or work toward a method that:
1) Releases high end content globally to as large an audience as possible at the same time and,
2) Generates consistent return on investment over the long term.
Most likely there is more than one way to achieve this. Any ideas out there?
It would be interesting to further examine DVD region coding and its pros and cons in light of geoblocking (or the friendlier sounding phrase "tiered international distribution"). Anyone have any links to articles on the subject?
Labels: distribution, Electric Farm Entertainment, Geoblocking, new media, Web Series
posted by TimTodd @ 7:40 PM
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6 Comments:
Very interesting article. A couple of general questions come to mind:
1. Does the geoblocking model necessitate a staggered-time release? In other words, for the return-on-investment model to work, does it require the various releases be at different times?
2. Does the geoblocking require likewise regional fan communities?
I think, as you say, that because of The Long Tail for new media, timed releases may not be as detrimental as, say, event-driven media like films. It's annoying during the release window, but isn't critical over the long run. In which case, the best way to integrate new media across the globe would be to organize and realize international fan communities.
This way, fans, no matter when they arrive at new media (when it is released or a year or two afterward), can have a place to go, interact, and discuss. A more centralized community also has the benefit of advertising older and more obscure releases by way of word-of-mouth, driving new viewers to already-existing media and promoting upcoming media.
Nice comments Samuel.
1) I don't think that geoblocking necessitates a staggered-time release. Afterworld was released at the same time both to the US and to Australia and then later to other territories. However, Gemini Division was released to the US first, then to Australia, with other regions to follow.
2. I think that geoblocking and a staggered release, though it doesn't necessitate separate regional fan communities, so far it does push them in that direction. It may also discourage participation for those arriving late to the scene.
As you point out, "the best way to integrate new media across the globe would be to organize and realize international fan communities".
To implement this, I think there should be a central site and a central forum for each series and I think EFE would benefit by making the organization of international fan communities a focus.
These efforts shouldn't be limited on a series by series basis as each series will need a central page and each series will need a central forum so there would be a lot of shared functionality. It probably would be worth it to design, plan, and implement with that in mind. At the same time the plan should allow for customization and adaptation based on each new series.
I think that the segmentation brought about by a staggered time release is unfortunate as part of the fun of an Electric Farm Entertainment type series is the shared interaction that takes place between fans and the creators of the show.
These are some of the reasons that I think that the Holy Grail is to release to as many territories as possible at the same time. When that takes place, I think those who buy EFE's international distribution rights would benefit, I think EFE would benefit, and I think the fans would benefit.
The Guild is distributed globally in 8 different languages. However, it sounds like they may not be generating return on investment by selling international distribution rights. Ideally, there would be a plan that blends and incorporates both.
All that said, a staggered time release can improve the experience, if new content is added and the experience is deepened. A staggered time release, particularly with this type of media, could potentially improve the experience that fans receive. Sony for instance had the opportunity to examine the release experience in the US. They could look at what went well, and what did not work so well and then add and shape the content to provide and deepen the experience.
I was doing some more thinking about your first question Samuel. I had a thought that perhaps geoblocking does tend toward a staggered-time release even when the content is relatively unchanged. The reason being that those who buy the rights to distribute in a particular territory, want exclusive access of that territory. I.e. they don't want to compete with a different distributor from somewhere else and they are willing to pay for that exclusive window.
As I did some more thinking on the subject, I realized that geoblocking could be leveraged to provide simultaneous launch windows on a global basis while still providing exclusive right windows.
I.e. Set it up so that people in the US can't watch the series through the Australia based distributor or any other territory. Then set the other territories up the same way with only one distributor per territory.
With this in place, a centralized community could be established that was not restricted by territory. This central community i.e. forum/interactivity would be accessible by everyone without geoblocking.
I think that this would be a better way to leverage the global community while at the same time providing ROI by selling international distribution rights.
I think it is also important that new media type companies engaging in this type of practice retain some ability to safeguard their content as well as the secondary content/ads that surround it.
Good thoughts, guys. We are looking for new and innovative ways to address the geo-blocking issue which, for the time being, is a necessary part of our distribution plans. As you both cite, it's all about maximizing the potential for dynamic communities. With that in mind, look for EFE to try some new approaches towards our websites on future series...
Brent Friedman
Sounds interesting and mysterious at the same time. Looking forward to see what you come up with. Can't wait until the next series starts up. Keep up the great work!
Felicia D. have the right approach no question.
The key question here is who is your customers ? If your customer is the english speaking early bird geoblocking will start you off on the wrong foot when they try to test something they heard about on the internet and cannot get access, later when you found a local distributor to translate etc. they will have moved on to the next new thing. Ideally a combination where you catch the global english speaking early adopters in the first wave and then have a local language rollout for the people dependent on the translation could give you the most bang for your buck.
If you want to maximize the return on your investment you have to ride the initial wave. if the interval between first release and local distribution is to long you lose all the initial impact and few markets are big enough to sustain themselves after that, remember that the initial rollout is when the internet will be/should be buzzing.
Considering how much badwill Hulu and other similar sites have accumulated by their 'not available' messages you surely don't want to provide the same customer experience.
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