Hollywood can take a share of the download business back from Apple if they turn to loss-leader pricing, according to a white paper (www.etcenter.org) out from Parks Associates and The Entertainment Technology Center at USC.
The paper suggests that Hollywood make clips of TV shows, movie scenes and made-for-mobile content free on mobile devices as a way to drive sales of through traditional distribution channels – i.e. DVDs, movie tickets. A survey by Parks found that consumers still prefer to watch movies on DVD or in theaters.
Researchers suggest in the white paper that eventually consumers will choose to buy mobile content, but believes that studios will have to first build interest with free content.