Why do "educational" DVDs cost so much?

[Anne_Neville]

@MsRobyn

No, because then there is no incentive for people to pledge. PBS gets almost half of its income from the fees member stations pay for the right to air PBS programming, who, in turn, depend on pledges to pay those fees to PBS. (See the cite I provided upthread. All of their financial information is there.)

It’s like Hollywood… why would you pay $8+ to see a movie once if you can buy the DVD for $20 and have it for all time?

Oh, I know. I wish the DVD’s of movies would come out when the movie comes out in the theaters, too- I’d just so much rather watch a DVD at home than go to the movie theater.

And, while I’m dreaming, I’d like a nice big house in San Francisco.

[Cartooniverse]

What neighborhood? We’ll see what we can do for you.

MsRobyn, 4&% is a lot- but is less than half. Would PBS not be better served in terms of income stream from DVD’s of shows they have producted by running the limitations just as they do- for maybe 4-6 months? Then, after the fund drive for that cycle is over, and after the show is long since aired, they can offer the same DVD for sale for a more reasonable retail price ( opposed to a $ 250.00 “donation” which gets you an otherwise unavailable DVD ).

Perhaps there is a bit of a backlash to all of this. They might make more money in the end, by marketing their programming both ways, no?

[MsRobyn]

@Cartooniverse

What neighborhood? We’ll see what we can do for you.

MsRobyn, 48% is a lot- but is less than half. Would PBS not be better served in terms of income stream from DVD’s of shows they have producted by running the limitations just as they do- for maybe 4-6 months? Then, after the fund drive for that cycle is over, and after the show is long since aired, they can offer the same DVD for sale for a more reasonable retail price ( opposed to a $ 250.00 “donation” which gets you an otherwise unavailable DVD ).

Perhaps there is a bit of a backlash to all of this. They might make more money in the end, by marketing their programming both ways, no?

(Quote corrected)

They could, and frankly, I’d be more willing to buy PBS videos if they were more reasonably priced. But they know their demographic, and that demo has money. People are willing to pay the premium prices, so PBS is happy to run on that model.

:shrug:

Robin

[SmackFu]

My theory is that they were selling videos of TV shows way before anyone else was, and they’ve never adjusted. Before DVD, you got a tape or two with three or four random good episodes for $30 or $40. TV shows were expensive!

[MsRobyn]

Okay. Sorry to bump this, but I’ve got some answers.

PBS puts out a specialty catalog for teachers and they have special sales reps just for teachers. I don’t know if the videos through this catalog are cheaper than what’s offered through regular PBS retail outlets.

However, the videos for teachers are specifically licensed for public performance. That means that teachers can play them in the classroom, for groups of non-paying viewers (say, at a school assembly or PTA meeting), or via closed-circuit television. As long as a) the audience didn’t pay to get in; and b) the video doesn’t go out over the air, the video can be played for groups. I’m sure other educational-video companies operate the same way.

I don’t have the catalog text in front of me, so the above isn’t a verbatim quote. But that’s the substance of it.

Robin