The future of GSN

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'gameshowlover87\' post=\'223405\' date=\'Aug 19 2009, 02:39 PM\']$30,000 just to convert the entire series of a game show to digibeta? That doesn't sound like much.[/quote]

I'm sure if you wrote them a check, they'd be happy to make you a set of DVDs as a thank-you.

[NickintheATL]

[quote name=\'gameshowlover87\' post=\'223405\' date=\'Aug 19 2009, 02:39 PM\']$30,000 just to convert all episodes of that show to digibeta? That doesn't sound like much.[/quote]

Some of us who work for a living could probably tell you that $30k is a lot of money these days.

Myself included.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'NicholasM79\' post=\'223427\' date=\'Aug 19 2009, 05:28 PM\'][quote name=\'gameshowlover87\' post=\'223405\' date=\'Aug 19 2009, 02:39 PM\']$30,000 just to convert all episodes of that show to digibeta? That doesn't sound like much.[/quote]

Some of us who work for a living could probably tell you that $30k is a lot of money these days.[/quote]
Clearly gameshowlover87 is the sort of baller who only rolls in the finest European sportscars and uses $500 bills for napkins. If he wants to flaunt it Mix-A-Lot-style, really, who are we to deny him?

[Tim L]

[quote name=\'clemon79\' post=\'223446\' date=\'Aug 19 2009, 11:51 PM\'][quote name=\'NicholasM79\' post=\'223427\' date=\'Aug 19 2009, 05:28 PM\'][quote name=\'gameshowlover87\' post=\'223405\' date=\'Aug 19 2009, 02:39 PM\']$30,000 just to convert all episodes of that show to digibeta? That doesn't sound like much.[/quote]

Some of us who work for a living could probably tell you that $30k is a lot of money these days.[/quote]
Clearly gameshowlover87 is the sort of baller who only rolls in the finest European sportscars and uses $500 bills for napkins. If he wants to flaunt it Mix-A-Lot-style, really, who are we to deny him?
[/quote]


While I make a good enough living to get by, The highest I've ever made in a year is about $25,000..And I can safely say I may never see $30,000 a year.. And Ive been at my job nearly 19 years..Some people just dont have a keen sense of reality..

[Dbacksfan12]

[quote name=\'gameshowlover87\' post=\'223405\' date=\'Aug 19 2009, 01:39 PM\']$30,000 just to convert all episodes of that show to digibeta? That doesn't sound like much.[/quote]I suppose you'd have no problem paying off my $6,800 remaining in student loans then, huh?

[Jimmy Owen]

Let's face facts.  To a big movie studio like Sony, $30,000 IS nothing.

[Loogaroo]

I thought it was established that Sony is no longer majority owner of GSN.

[Chelsea Thrasher]

[quote name=\'Loogaroo\' post=\'223582\' date=\'Aug 21 2009, 04:11 AM\']I thought it was established that Sony is no longer majority owner of GSN.[/quote]

Correct.  At some point Liberty purchased another portion of Sony's stake in the network: Liberty's own website currently puts their ownership of GSN at 65%.

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'223580\' date=\'Aug 21 2009, 04:37 AM\']Let's face facts.  To a big movie studio like Sony, $30,000 IS nothing.[/quote]
Still no reason for them to do something that isn't going to give them a return on their investment, whether it be $30,000 or $300.

[Jimmy Owen]

Alright, I'll rephrase.  To a giant cable conglomerate like Liberty, $30,000 IS nothing.

[Dbacksfan12]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'223592\' date=\'Aug 21 2009, 07:08 AM\']Alright, I'll rephrase.  To a giant cable conglomerate like Liberty, $30,000 IS nothing.[/quote]And, the point is still as invalid as before.

It does Liberty no good either to drop $30,000 either.

[Jimmy Owen]

[quote name=\'Modor\' post=\'223593\' date=\'Aug 21 2009, 08:10 AM\'][quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' post=\'223592\' date=\'Aug 21 2009, 07:08 AM\']Alright, I'll rephrase.  To a giant cable conglomerate like Liberty, $30,000 IS nothing.[/quote]And, the point is still as invalid as before.

It does Liberty no good either to drop $30,000 either.
[/quote]


So what should become of the "Spin-Off" tapes?  Now do you see why all those shows of the '70s were wiped?  The point remains that for you and me $30,000 is a lot of money.  To a big company it is not.  A quarter of a penny's increase in your cable bill could cover the expense.

[mmb5]

*Profitable* companies will take at least a few minutes to decide whether or not the investment is necessary.  Would spending $30K to convert and whatever $X dollars paying the rights to the Nicholson-Muir heirs (or whoever owns it now) are going to result in profit $Y, where $Y > $30K + X?  Highly, highly unlikely.  There is no market to watch people play Yahtzee from 34 years ago.  The powers at be at the time, who thought converting the TJW tapes at the time would be profitable, yanked them pretty quickly IIRC.  If converting Hollywood Squares -- one of the five biggest game shows of the 70s -- was not financially sound, converting the 45th biggest game show of the 70s can't be any better.

$30K is still $30K.  It's $30K you're not giving to your stockholders.  And they tend to be very, very pissy about every penny.


--Mike

[Jimmy Owen]

So it really doesn't matter that the tapes exist.  They will never be able to be seen.  The storage costs might exceed the profit potential, so why save them?

[mmb5]

There may some value in either going to a museum (a la UCLA or Paley) or collectors.  I'm afraid of the can o'worms I'm going to open here, but I do know of someone who does have the majority of a 70's series we think is wiped out sitting in his garage in original 2" form.  I'm not going to answer who it is or what series it is for the privacy of the collector, but more to the point it has value to someone, since that person still has it, even though he has no capacity to watch it.

An interesting development to watch is the "profitability" of the 20 Hollywood Squares episodes on Hulu.  If their bean crunchers and log watchers find that it can be profitable, this may be over time where we see our classics, especially the 2nd tier ones, and not so much on GSN.  So please go out and buy all of the Vlasic pickles and Axe body products you can.


--Mike