M+E Daily

In an earnings call with analysts Wednesday, Time Warner chief executive Jeff Bewkes shared his company’s desire to widen the window of exclusivity between a movie’s release on disc and video-on-demand, and its availability via services such as Netflix and Redbox.

Bewkes said that the current 28-day window was better than none at all “in terms of supporting higher-priced DVD sales, electronic sell-through, and rentals and VOD. But it’s getting kind of clear that the acceleration of the consumer usage of [subscription] services, including Netflix, makes it a good time for us to reevaluate the terms.

“In our view,” Bewkes said, “the current pricing and window are not really commensurate with…the value that our film company should get for that period of exhibition is considerably higher than what’s there now.”

In addition to lengthening home entertainment windows, Bewkes said the company’s filmed entertainment division also is mulling “how much to increase what we charge [Netflix and Redbox] for our DVDs.”

Warner is looking to modify the release window of theatrical films this year as well, with plans to add a “premium VOD” option via that will enable consumers to watch new movies at home 60 days after their theatrical release.

The first premium VOD titles will bow in the second quarter, Bewkes said, with Warner expecting to make the service available through all of its “major distributors” by year’s end. No word yet on pricing of the films, or specific launch partners for the service.

Of the emerging UltraViolet (UV) digital content standard, Bewkes reiterated that in the second half of 2011, all theatrical new releases from Warner Bros. will be UV-enabled, along with new releases from Fox, Sony, and Universal.

“If the industry executes it right,” Bewkes said, “UV should dramatically boost the appeal of owning movies.”

Total home video and electronic delivery revenues at Warner Bros. during 2010 were $3.5 billion, off 3% from 2009. The decline, however, is hardly as dramatic as it was in the previous year, when the home video segment finished down 13% from 2008.

Time Warner said that its Warner Home Video led the domestic home entertainment industry in DVD sales, Blu-ray Disc sales, video-on-demand, and electronic sell-through in 2010. The company added that its 2010 home video revenues faced difficult comparisons to the prior year, “which benefitted from higher catalog sales and the release of ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.’” Home video versions of the final two “Harry Potter” films are due in 2011.

The company’s 2010 earnings release is here.