Why the heck aren't all the "old" series/movies available to buy anywhere?
Why the heck aren't all the "old" series/movies available to buy anywhere?
I understand if they stopped printing new blu rays / DVDs, but it’s outrageous and disappointing I can’t just buy the digital edition.
Is there an actual reason companies do this? Do they hate money or what?
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It takes more than zero dollars to prepare media for a new format, like streaming.
Many old series did not have contracts that covered streaming, since it didn't really exist at the time.
Many old series had music licensed for a specific format, and they would need to renegotiate those contracts for the new medium.
That is why some series have made it to streaming but with replacement music or are only available to buy but not be included in netflix or hulu as part of a subscription. Others haven't made it because the company either thinks they won't make their money back or they are working on something that they expect will make more money first.
(This is more for OP and other readers than the author of the comment I’m replying to)
A classic example being WKRP in Cincinnati which was a relatively low budget sitcom when it was produced. It was shot on videotape instead of film and took advantage of a special licensing rate for music when added to videotaped programs, which let them include a lot more contemporary rock music that would’ve aired on a rock station in the late ’70s. However, the licenses had a limited time allowance so while the show was originally in syndication with that music, by the ’90s it was replaced with similar sounding stock music. Early releases of the show for home media also didn’t have the original songs. Shout Factory put together a box set of the show and went back to the music owners to try to form new licensing deals, but even they couldn’t clear every song.
Music isn’t the only factor; similar issues pop up with all sorts of rights issues and royalties. When shows were made in the ’50s no one really had the idea of reruns and syndication. Before the ’80s there was no real idea of home viewing, and even then in the days of VHS tapes the idea of putting an entire show on tape for home use was pretty out there. Only fitting 1-4 episodes on a tape meant a season alone might take up a whole bookshelf, never mind a full series. It really wasn’t until the 2000s that there was a normal expectation that a show for broadcast would also go into syndication and be sold/rented to home viewers. So a lot of contracts with actors, writers, directors, etc. didn’t cover how royalties would be paid on these newer releases. Sometimes those rights have been sold in the interim as well, so it requires a legal team researching what rights need to be secured and who currently owns them to make sure all the payments are planned. Get it wrong and a rights-holder can sue and might end up taking away all your profit, even making the venture lose money. If you’re going to release an old show, you need to be confident that there’s enough of an audience willing to pay that you can cover all those costs and still make a profit, not to mention the costs of preparing the program to a format suitable for sale/streaming.
Of course, once those copyrights expire, some of those cost concerns go away. We’re only just starting to reach that point with films (anybody want to watch Steamboat Willie?), so in another 30 years or so we’ll probably start seeing more old TV shows. If they’ve survived, of course.
This was an excellent example!
Beavis and Butthead is another similar example. Some group of people have done their best to recreate it digitally in a torrent called the King Turd edition.
No I’m not saying streaming but buying it
The making money back, contracts, and music applies to sales too.
The reason they don't have it for sale is because they like money.
That's why Netflix's Evangelion don't have "fly me to the moon"