The Business Strategy of Hollywood's most Powerful Distributors: an Empirical Analysis

Authors

  • Sergio Sparviero University of Salzburg

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15847/obsOBS742013709

Keywords:

Hollywood film distributors, intellectual properties, audio-visual markets

Abstract

As many authors suggest, nowadays the distribution arms of the major info-entertainment conglomerates heavily invest in feature films that promote their own intellectual properties. As a result, the variety of features films that these companies contribute to produce increasignly depends on the revenues that the embedded intellectual properties can generate on secondary and ancillary markets, while the theatrical release is frequently an expensive loss leader mainly designed to create awareness of these properties. Using publicly available data from various internet databases, the present paper provides a contribution to the understanding of this trend by analyzing the portfolio of feature films released in 2007 and distributed by the mainstream and minor divisions of the six largest ‘Majors’. Specifically, the purpose of this analysis is to assess the use of three cardinal principals of this business strategy valorising intellectual properties: (1) ‘Strike while the iron is hot’, (2) ‘Open Big’, and (3) ‘Diversify your slate’. This analysis shows that in the year in question, about 60% of funding allocated to feature films was invested in ‘non-original’ content and that the conglomerates that were the most efficient in applying these principles were also the best earners.

Author Biography

Sergio Sparviero, University of Salzburg

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Downloads

Published

2013-11-25

How to Cite

Sparviero, S. (2013). The Business Strategy of Hollywood’s most Powerful Distributors: an Empirical Analysis. Observatorio (OBS*), 7(4). https://doi.org/10.15847/obsOBS742013709

Issue

Vol. 7 No. 4 (2013)

Section

Articles

License

Observatorio (OBS*) has an academic journal profile. As such, it is dedicated to the open exchange of its contents, and freely available to individuals and institutions without charge or formal permission. Copies of this journal or articles in this journal may be distributed for research or educational purposes free of charge and without permission. Authors will not be charged for publication or submission to this journal. Authors who publish in Observatorio (OBS*) will release their contributions under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-2.0 generic. This licence allows anyone to copy and distribute the article for non-commercial purposes provided that appropriate attribution is given - being the author the copyright holder. This journal utilizes the LOCKSS system to create a distributed archiving system among participating libraries and permits those libraries to create permanent archives of the journal for purposes of preservation and restoration. The publisher perpetually authorizes participants in the LOCKSS system to archive and restore our publication through the LOCKSS System for the benefit of all LOCKSS System participants. Specifically participating libraries may: • Collect and preserve currently accessible materials; • Use material consistent with original license terms; • Provide copies to other LOCKSS appliances for purposes of audit and repair. Fair use of a copyrighted work, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include: 1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; 2. the nature of the copyrighted work; 3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; & 4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors. In accord with these provisions, the OBS journal believes in the vigorous assertion and defense of Fair Use by scholars engaged in academic research, teaching and non-commercial publishing. Thus, we view the inclusion of “quotations” from existing print, visual, audio and audio-visual texts to be appropriate examples of Fair Use, as are reproductions of visual images for the purpose of scholarly analysis. We encourage authors to obtain appropriate permissions to use materials originally produced by others, but do not require such permissions as long as the usage of such materials falls within the boundaries of Fair Use.