this post was submitted on 26 Jul 2023
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This is odd, although consistent with Disney strategy elsewhere. There have been recent reports that Disney was going reverse and bring back physical media.
For other content producers, physical media remains a significant source of revenue. NextTV reported that for 2022-2023 US physical media revenue (DVD & BlueRay discs) was $ 1.34 billion.
I quite enjoy having my favourite films and tv series on physical discs. Especially with streamers removing content with little/ no notice. Plus the internet in parts of australia can be an issue for streaming.
Could be similar to the "vault" strategy. Make physical copies scarce then drip feed us limited edition releases.
I would expect Disney to use the vault strategy of intermittent availability again.
The idea of getting rid of all physical media sales was to drive people to its streaming platforms. (Netflix has done the same.)
However, as no streamer can credibly commit to keeping everything from its library actively available, and there are tax structures incenting content producers to pull IP out of circulation, this isn’t a viable solution for anyone who wants to ensure future access to view a specific production.
If they don’t want individuals downloading and cutting their own discs or maintaining other privately created storage for personal use, they will need to offer physical media - at least intermittently. It hasn’t gone to court yet as far as I know, but I can’t see the courts upholding DRM against a personal use copy when there is no other way to get a permanent right of use.