Warner Brothers has announced that Netflix will now have to wait 56 days before they have access to new releases to rent via mail. That’s twice as long as the previous wait period (one that other studios do as well). The reasoning behind it is this: if you have to wait 2 months to rent their latest film on DVD, and meanwhile that film is available for sale those full 2 months, they figure you’ll go out and buy it.
I don’t get it. If I saw it in the theater and hated it, I’m not going to buy it. If I saw it in the theater and loved it, I’ll buy it when it comes out, regardless of Netflix availability. And, if I skipped it in theaters, then A) what’s two more months to wait, and B) why would I buy it having not seen it?
Is that over-simplistic? Is this thinking more for a family, who’d buy a WB family film sight-unseen if it’s not ready for Netflix? Or am I not the only type of person who picks which films to buy rather carefully?
