Disney chief Robert Iger suggested in a recent interview
that Disney needs to raise their prices on Blu-Ray discs. I was shocked and
more than a little disturbed by this, not that I think it would last long if
attempted. Where the Iger’s thought does worry me though, what if people kept
buying?
Blu-Ray prices are already high and Disney is near the top
of the pricing lists already. I have always written this off to the fact that
Disney makes superb, even amazing Blu-Rays, from picture and audio quality to
their interactive features. They rock the Blu-Ray world and even include the SD
DVD version in many of their Blu-Ray sets. I am willing to pay for this convenience
sometimes, at others times I figure I can wait and buy when prices come down.
Disney holds its movies in a vault for long periods, only
releasing classics for short periods, which keeps their value up. Many of their classics are worthy of this and
I understand the idea of maintaining the value of these movies by releasing
them at intervals that bring the magic of Disney to generation after generation
without wearing the movie thin. I wait for these releases and relive moments of
my childhood, often with my young nephews.
The scary thing is that raising prices across the board on
Disney Blu-Rays hurts the consumer, especially in these tough economic times.
Disney sales will drop and that is the last thing Blu-Ray needs right now, it
is important to at least keep things where they are, not move backwards.
I hope Iger and the rest of the Disney heads realize the
power they hold and make a decision that will help ensure their classics are
shown in the best possible format available for generations to come.