Studios switch to digital screeners

Disney, Fox, Warner replace DVDs with downloads to combat piracy

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 4/11/2008

APRIL 11 | Studios are wielding a new weapon in the battle against piracy: digitally delivered film screeners.

In recent months, Warner Home Video, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment have all rolled out ‘e-screener’ programs, under which retailers can download or stream copy-protected films to their computers.

Along with thwarting piracy, studios believe the digital offerings will shave costs and green their operations, as traditional screener packaging and shipping isn’t required. Over the last few years, nearly all studios have cut back on sending DVD screeners to retailers.

Retailers such as the Video Buyers Group have been getting pitched to sign up for e-screeners in recent weeks. DVDEmpire.com and Virgin Megastores are among other retailers sampling the digital wares. Although stores believe something is better than nothing, many retailers believe they can’t get the full sense of a film by way of their relatively small computer screens.

“Undoubtedly, people want to watch movies on a big screen,” said Jim Wuthrich, Warner senior VP of digital distribution. “But we’ve seen a direct correlation from when [DVD] screeners are released to when that content starts showing up on the file-sharing networks. [The e-screener program] will be a gradual transition for people, but this is more secure than DVD.”

Studio programs vary, but most control their content offerings with complicated digital rights management and make screeners available for viewing for a limited time. Additionally, retailers are given individual login info and passwords in an effort to limit screener usage to retail decision makers.

Retailers can access Warner e-screeners by first downloading an application at www.whvdirect.com. From there, Warner automatically pushes various screeners to program members’ hard drives for view at retailers’ leisure. Current screeners include episodes of HBO miniseries John Adams, romantic comedy P.S. I Love You and documentary Darfur Now.

Fox (www.foxretail.com) and Disney (previewroom.wdshe.com) programs are a la carte services, in which retailers choose the films they want to stream from the available selection. Recently added Disney titles include Step Up 2 The Streets, College Road Trip and eighth season episodes of Home Improvement. Fox examples include Cover, A Good Man Is Hard to Find and episodes of TV show Burn Notice.

“I think people are getting used to watching content from their offices,” said Lori MacPherson, general manager of North America at Disney. “For us, the main concern has been piracy, but we were also looking for a more efficient way to [offer screeners]. We don’t have to send hundreds of thousands of copies that might just end up getting destroyed.”

VBG president Ted Engen hopes that studios continue to offer physical screeners at least on a case by case basis.

“Studios don’t need to send out a screener on a film that made $100 million and everyone knows. There is a cost to these things,” said Engen, who was personally visited last month by Fox executives touting e-screeners. “But for secondary films that make under $50 million, screeners are important. And it’s hard sitting in front of a computer screen to watch a full-length movie.”

Some studios, such as Warner, will still send physical discs upon request, say retail sources. Also, Paramount Home Entertainment and Universal Studios Home Entertainment continue to offer select DVD screeners. Lionsgate and Sony still serve up most product through physical screeners.

Most studios do send Blu-ray Disc screeners because the large size of high-definition files make digital distribution more complicated.

With the right wireless-capable equipment, including the Xbox 360, retailers can shift content from computers to home theater systems, studios note. But many retailers are not yet set up with such advanced technology. Also, some retailers say e-screeners cannot convey the audio/video quality of a DVD.

“While the e-screener program is great for catching up on a movie we may have missed in theaters, it’s virtually worthless when it comes to providing an early review of the movie for customers. We can’t comment on its A/V quality,” said Shannon Nutt, DVDEmpire editorial director. “In my opinion, the e-screener program should be a supplement to getting a final version for review, not a replacement for it.”

Warner is promising ongoing enhancements to its e-screener program. It wants to make it playable on now incompatible Apple hardware and allow screener burning onto DVDs.

“We’ve gotten well into the hundreds of people who’ve signed up,” said Wuthrich. “We are still in the early phase of this, but more stores will get the word that it’s out, and we will continue to improve it.”