The laws of pirates

Look here: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/05/warner-bros-pushing-movie-delays-from-28-to-56-days-for-netflix/

We see a potential announcement at CES that DVD/Blu-ray sales of Warner Bros titles to movie rental outlets like Netflix and Redbox could be delayed by 56 days, instead of the current 28.


If true, I would like to award Warner Bros with the bonehead award.  I can imagine it now.  Warner Bros business executives blindfolding each other in the boardroom.  Take a quick line of cocaine, then throw darts at an invisible board of bad consumer decisions that screams in the latest intern's voice; the last intern mysteriously disappeared after the last game of drug darts. 

I don't know if there is a law out there, but there should be.  Not a law enacted from a local governing body, but an internet law if you will.  It's simple.  The harder you make it for consumers to acquire your product, the faster the good old skull and crossbones flag gets rung up the flag pole.

In reality, I'm sure they've already thought it out and could care less about the pirates.  A small percentage of consumers will be disgusted and turn to pirating movies which they can publicly complain about to justify their harsher clamp downs.  The other consumers who really want the movie will go out and purchase it, offsetting the pirating costs, and lastly a minute number of customers will just stop making purchases.

It's business, and more importantly it's their business, and they can do what they want with it.  It's also a clear example of a company that likes to sit on a throne and look down on the consumer, treating them like expendable surfs.  It's only when you become truly interested in people who use your product that you really shine as an example of master creator and distributor.  For now, they're just the master of maximizing profits over the ease of acquiring their movies.