Studios pricing themselves out of the game
I recently rented the first two episodes of HBO’s Carnivale. The first two shows were enough to make me hit the HBO website and look up the cost of buying the entire series: USD$119, which is way more than what I expect to pay for media.
Which has me wondering if my pricing expectations are fair. I’d be happy to pay up to CAN$40 for the 24 episodes, but anything more than that strikes me as overpriced. I’m not sure where I got the notion that $40 is the most a series is worth, but I’m having a hard time shaking it.
And so I ask you, gentle readers: what’s a fair price for that kind of production? Am I being too much of a cheapskate, or is HBO pricing itself out of the market?
(NB: Since my local independent rental store has a copy of both seasons for rent, my intent is to pay $60 to see the series. With that I also have the ability to quit watching if I get bored)
The most I’ve paid I think is $55 for a season of something. Grey’s Anatomy, maybe? Yes, it’s a soap, I like it, move along.
*oh, no, it was Dead Like Me!!! Recommendation, by the way, I think you would like it.*
HBO’s stuff I find is always the most expensive – but they don’t get the advertising dollars because they’re a specialty channel, I think, so this is the way that they can make back some of the production costs. Or break even, or something.
I’m toying with the idea of renting another HBO series – the one about the funeral home, and for the life of me I cannot remember the name. I’ve seen season one and didn’t like it but so many people have told me to see the series that I’m willing to give it one more try.