Thursday, August 7, 2014

Increasing Returns and Red Queens

A variety of different sources provide viewer the ability to view movies.  In the past one could purchase a DVD containing specific movie, rent it from store, visit local library or borrow from friends.  In the last decade the availability of movies on demand such as pay per view, and Netflix provided a service for customers to be able to view desired movies without leaving home resulting in decline and almost total disappearance of Movie rental stores such as Blockbuster, Rogers Video and other video rental stores..  Improved Internet bandwidth, lower prices and greater customer acceptance of high speed internet provided an opportunity for cable companies, along with Netflix to offer movies on demand.  Cable companies such as Rogers, Shaw, Comcast, Bell Media saw an opportunity to provide access to customers and also other companies such as Netflix in getting greater returns for their investments by providing video on demand and abandoning purchasing videos, renting space, hiring people to manage video stores. 

I was going to check to see if library had the movie NEXT available and if not I was going to check  Netflix. .  I was able to borrow the movie Next from my neighbor.  At the present time I do not have access to Netflix and I am not planning to in the near future signup for their service.  Family obligations along with my studies in Walden’s PhD Educational Technology Program limit my time and desire to pursue additional time consuming occupations.

Current competition between DVD’s and video on demand is an example of both, increasing return made possible by wild card or Red Queen which was development and adoption of broad band.  Thornburg (2008) states that emergent of wildcard occurred with access and adoption by people of wide broadband.  Examples given by Thorn burg in Video Increasing Returns states that completion between technologies such as DVD’s and video on demand does not necessarily ensure that best technology wins.  In order to view movies on demand one has to have access to broadband and one has to pay additional costs for signing up with Netflix.   Renting DVD’s or buying DVD’s for viewing does not require broadband.  Companies providing movies on demand are able to get higher returns not only providing access to movies but also charging for use of Broadband.

DVDs rentals have almost totally disappeared and sales of DVD movies are decreasing.  I would put DVDs in the Obsolete quadrant.  Video on demand would be placed in Reversal quadrant.  Abundance of choices especially on demand lays the foundation for development of newer communication technologies that will provide services at a lower cost changing the model movies on demand.





References
Laureate Education Inc. Producer (2009).  Increasing Returns. Baltimore, MD. Author
Laureate Education Inc.  Producer (2009).  Red Queens. Baltimore, MD. Author


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