DVDizzy Forum

I was looking at the prices and I want to know why Dirty Sexy Money (10 episodes) is $10 more than Pushing daisies (9 episodes). The only difference is 1 episode and some extras, I was thinking it was because Pushing Daisies also has a Bluray version so they couldn't make it too expensive...

Can anyone explain the big price difference for one episode, (Also to me special features are freebies that should be free so I don't really count them as a reason to pay more)

I think it has more to do with marketing. PD was one of the most talked about shows of the season, however its strong premiere audience numbers soon declined to about 7-8 million, although critics loved it and it was praised like nothing else because of its quirky uniqueness.
Dirty Sexy Money however soon found an audience and is produced by ABC studios, PD is produced by Warner, so the DVD price is up to Warner not ABC/Touchstone as in the case of DSM. Touchstone DVDs are usually a tad more expensive and I think Warner wants to make PD a success, so they offer the first season at a low price to make people buy it, see what all the hype is about, and start watching next season.
Here's what I will do: Get PD the day it is released (although I would've gotten it for just about any price on release day) and wait for DSM's prices to drop

ZOOMBOOM0688 wrote:I was looking at the prices and I want to know why Dirty Sexy Money (10 episodes) is $10 more than Pushing daisies (9 episodes). The only difference is 1 episode and some extras, I was thinking it was because Pushing Daisies also has a Bluray version so they couldn't make it too expensive...

Can anyone explain the big price difference for one episode, (Also to me special features are freebies that should be free so I don't really count them as a reason to pay more)

Prices for TV Shows on DVD are based on several things:

1. $$ per Episode - hourlong shows will almost always cost more than sitcoms because of the $$-per-episode budget. It costs more to make a 10-episode DVD set than a 9-episode DVD set, even if it's the same amount of discs (I'm assuming both sets - DSM & PD - are 3-discs?).

2. Special Features - even if you think they're freebies that shouldn't factor into the pricing...they're not. Each title's budget has to cover episode restoration (however minor or major - look at the extensive work on "Doctor Who" compared to the slipshod job on pre-Remastered "Star Trek"), music rights (very expensive, which explains why some companies choose to do substitutions or cuts), and special features (VAM, commentaries, games, etc.). For most, special features is the most disposable because it is seen as the least necessary to getting a title on DVD. Look at the extras-less DVD releases for "Wings" compared to the extras-laden DVDs of "Seinfeld".

3. Restoration - touched upon in #2, but episode restoration takes time and money as well. Regarding new shows, it shouldn't be a problem. With older shows, not that many get an extensive restoration done. The only real examples I can think of for US shows are "I Love Lucy" and "Twin Peaks".

4. Music Rights - the bane of TVShowsonDVD. You either end up with all/most the music intact ("Miami Vice", "Freaks & Geeks", "One Tree Hill"), or nothing but substitutions (most Sony, Paramount, or Universal budget-show releases).

Also, Dottie's right when it comes to which studio is distributing the DVD. Disney (and all its branches) are notorious for their stingy (and high) prices. You rarely ever see them have seasonal $20 sales on season sets, whereas Warner has been doing it for years.

Albert

Dottie wrote:PD is produced by Warner, so the DVD price is up to Warner not ABC/Touchstone as in the case of DSM. Touchstone DVDs are usually a tad more expensive

I did not know that, I assumed ABC was making both, That explains it.

wait for DSM's prices to drop

That is what I want to do but the ABC shows hardly ever drop like other networks

ZOOMBOOM0688 wrote:

wait for DSM's prices to drop

That is what I want to do but the ABC shows hardly ever drop like other networks

You just have to keep an eye on them. Sometimes amazon.com has very decent prices, like some weeks ago they had Grey's Anatomy Season 2 and 3 for about 25$ each, so I guess at some point you might get DSM for a lower price than the pre-order price.