Getting Frantic in Tinseltown?

Writes Om at our parent site GigaOM,

It is not just Vudu – BitTorrent, Guba or add video startup name here – Hollywood studios seem to be happy to sign a deal with anyone who is willing to make the trek to Los Angeles. The question is WHY?
The answer is actually pretty simple: stalled DVD sales.
Variety reports “Homevid sales dropped 7.8% to $3.5 billion while rental was off 1% at $2.1 billion.”

Continue reading at GigaOM.

Our take: Sure, the studios will tell you they’re trying to act fast following Napster et al’s effect on the music industry — but their insistence on Windows DRM and obligations to existing theater-to-DVD-to-everything-else release windows inhibit the online ventures from being any good.