Film and the Internet

The film industry, like all others (i.e. games, music and newspapers), was revoloutionised by the growth of the internet - but has also been given new threats. Video, DVD and even Digital piracy are still a bigger threat than ever to the industry, and with the internet, anyone can log on to the internet and download illegal films or television programmes. The scale of internet piracy has tripled in recent years, with an average of 1.67 million people a year watching illegal content - as opposed to 570,000 in 2003, the increase is massive, and it is still growing. To put these figures into context: the average DVD on release costs an average of £13, with the DVD prices ranging from around £8 to $15 - if you multiply £13 by 1.67 million, this equates to £21,710,000 (bear in mind this also includes television piracy with most TV box sets selling at anything from £18 - £50). The threat on the industry is massive, and the internet is a double-edged sword; giving new areas to advertise, but also giving film pirates new areas to give their product away.

The History of Film:

The film industry was first born in the 1860s, with what we know as cinema coming into existence in the early 20th century. In the 1970s the first revoloution to the world of film came into existence, VHS or Video Home System, giving consumers the oppurtunity to watch in the comfort of their own home, and for almost 50 years they served their purpose - with the last main supplier of prerecorded VHS sending out their last order in late 2008.

The next revoloution was that of DVD, with their first appearance coming in 1993, in two forms; The Multimedia Compact Disc (MMCD or CDi) and Super Denisity Disc (SD). Eventually the two products converged, creating what we know as the DVD (Digital Verstatile Disc or Digital Video Disc).

Current Film Practice:

The film industry is still split into two markets; Digital and DVD. Digitally the main supplier of major release films, and a large variety of Niche, is iTunes. iTunes sells movies from; 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros, Walt Disney Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Universal Studios and Sony Pictures Entertainment, with iTunes also offering some 1,000 films for rent.