CBS wants to kill off Jack Benny shows

News and Upcoming Releases
Post Reply
Ollie
Posts: 908
Joined: January 18th, 2008, 3:56 pm

CBS wants to kill off Jack Benny shows

Post by Ollie »

http://themoderatevoice.com/59065/killi ... y-masters/

CBs has decided to bury Jack Benny's TV shows, blaming unknown forces on their decision to refuse to let the Jack Benny Club restore 25 public-domain episodes with the Jack Benny Family blessing.

Grrrr.

This isn't about money. CBS is ensuring no one will ever make money. Further, they are helping ensure that no one new ever learns about Jack Benny to a greater degree. Where's an extremely large mallet when I need one?
User avatar
Lzcutter
Administrator
Posts: 3149
Joined: April 12th, 2007, 6:50 pm
Location: Lake Balboa and the City of Angels!
Contact:

Re: CBS wants to kill off Jack Benny shows

Post by Lzcutter »

Part of the problem in all this is who owns the copyright, who is going to pay residuals to all the talent or their estates?

The Archivist list-serv I belong to has debated this problem back and forth all weekend.

But copyright ownership seems to be the main fly in the ointment, at least for CBS

The current thinking is that it will cost CBS a bundle to tell them whether or not they own the rights to the 25 "missing" episodes. Will they be able to make that money back by licensing the episodes and/or revenue from their DVD sales? Right now, the suits at CBS don't think they would, thus they aren't going ahead with investigating the copyright dilemma.

CBS, to their credit, has been storing the shows for over fifty years in vault conditions.
Lynn in Lake Balboa

"Film is history. With every foot of film lost, we lose a link to our culture, to the world around us, to each other and to ourselves."

"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese

Avatar-Warner Bros Water Tower
Ollie
Posts: 908
Joined: January 18th, 2008, 3:56 pm

Re: CBS wants to kill off Jack Benny shows

Post by Ollie »

Yes, the money factor - the profitability - is always one point. But the other point is, "How much can we make by leaving them in the vault?"

Their profitability question has a variety of possible answers. Their current decision has only one: ZERO profit, total expense of storage, AND they are assuring less and less interest as the years go on, therefore certifying a more certain Zero Profitability.

I disagree with their stance completely. If they want to get revenue, they have to plant seeds at first. Seeds grow, interest grows and then they have the possibility of profits. Refusing to plant is their only guarantee of zero profit.

I understand their claimed position, but I also think "laziness" is a large factor in their decision. They have the inertia of Doing Nothing, and they don't see any reason to change. They don't have any interest in most of their property - it's numbers on a sheet of paper, IDs, barcodes. These are all foundations of the Public Domain definition.
User avatar
srowley75
Posts: 723
Joined: April 22nd, 2008, 11:04 am
Location: West Virginia

Re: CBS wants to kill off Jack Benny shows

Post by srowley75 »

I fully understand the position that CBS, et al are in. Despite what you may read here and there, we're still in a recession with steady unemployment (West Virginia continues to suffer big time, with an almost 10% unemployment rate). People are ceasing to buy movies and starting to simply rent them through NetFlix or other providers - not only because it's cheaper but because, as I've read in several articles, many collectors have libraries that are spiraling out of control (and let me say here that I know how they feel). Adding to that, we're also well into a transition period. Blu-Ray is gaining popularity, and yet on-demand viewing (much of which is free to cable subscribers) and downloading also continue to increase as time passes, so nothing seems to be a sure thing, especially when it comes to older cult items. Many studios are liquidating their pressed DVD releases because they're just not selling anymore, and several companies have even gone out of business. Time Warner and Universal seem to be trying to quell complaints from vintage film and TV fans while also satisfying profit demands by selling DVD-Rs, but as we've seen in the Universal Vault thread, they're meeting with a mixed reception. And still another problem, as Fox studios mentioned when fans assailed them with complaints about holding out on Mary Tyler Moore, is a sated marketplace. So much becomes available week in and week out that it takes much longer for a property to show a profit once it's released to DVD, especially one that's 30, 40, 50 years old.

All this to say that I can understand the hesitancy on the part of the studios. I realize that it's annoying, it's unfortunate, it's enough to make you want to turn to the closest object within reach and strangle it a la Basil Fawlty. But profitability for all of these vintage programs and films is always the bottom line, because nobody wants layoffs. So whenever they become available, all one can do is buy, buy, buy. Vote with your pocketbook.
Post Reply