AFI BLOG: Media and Technology

Variety

Studio brass taking broad way to distribution

Media titans used to obsess about piracy. Nowadays, they are more likely to fixate on ubiquity.
News Corp. prexy-chief operating officer Peter Chernin repeatedly invoked the need to distribute content as widely as possible during Wednesday afternoon’s Milken Institute panel on the consequences of the digital revolution. Fellow panelists Terry Semel, studio chief-turned-digital convert, and BBC director general Mark Thompson picked up the theme during the sesh.

“We’re consistently on the march to distribute content as ubiquitously as possible,” Chernin said, citing the desire to allow consumers to access it any time, any way and any place they desire.

The key, Chernin said, is making sure the content is available for a reasonable price. That way, there’s less incentive for piracy.

“I don’t think anyone’s not paying attention to fraud,” Semel said, “but the bulk of time is being devoted to where we’re going.”

He said the open distribution strategy being embraced by more content providers reps a major shift from the time the music biz went digital and execs sat around in meetings figuring out who they should sue for piracy.

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