DVD release date

[anna]

At this point, I have hopes mainly for the future of download-to-own. That is just getting started, but Sony announced its plans for movie download-to-own this week. The networks are beginning to test the waters with their more popular shows. I don't know what the costs per unit would be for making Blind Justice episodes and extras available for purchase via download, but they would have to be less than the unit costs of producing and marketing DVD's.

[mlm828]

longlashes said:

I hate to say it but you are right on both counts! ABC does hold the absolute rights to its release. ABC didn't give us any evidence that they cared about the Blind Justice audience while it was on the air; they didn't have the courtesy to respond to the letter writing campaign to save it; and for some strange reason I don't think they will care now that there is an audience eager for its release

Why, oh why, did Blind Justice have to be shown on the alphabet network? I honestly believe that had it been anywhere else, we would already have the boxed set in our possession! I think there is more than enough evidence out there to support that statement!

Major bummer. Does anyone remember the addresses or where to find them? LL, when you send your letters, could you post them here? We should not all send the same letter, of course, but you write a very good letter, and it would help to have some ideas for what to say.

anna said:

At this point, I have hopes mainly for the future of download-to-own. That is just getting started, but Sony announced its plans for movie download-to-own this week. The networks are beginning to test the waters with their more popular shows. I don't know what the costs per unit would be for making Blind Justice episodes and extras available for purchase via download, but they would have to be less than the unit costs of producing and marketing DVD's.

Techno-dummy here. Does "download-to-own" mean we could burn the episodes onto DVDs, which can then be played on a regular DVD player? Or would we have to watch on the computer?

[bjobsessed]

I got this address of the abc website.

Audience Relations Department
ABC, Inc.
500 S. Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521-4551

[phone]*

I guess you could send it to the address with 'Attention Stephen McPherson' as well

I've been away all day and am just catching up now. This is all a huge disappointment, but we are a small but determined group of people so you never know.

I still don't like ABC!

Thanks Lori, for all your hard work.

[anna]

mlm828 said:

Techno-dummy here. Does "download-to-own" mean we could burn the episodes onto DVDs, which can then be played on a regular DVD player? Or would we have to watch on the computer?

There are different models out there. In the Sony model, you could only burn DVD's as backup for the PC files - not to play on TV. They are trying to avoid cannibalizing their DVD business. You would need Windows Media Center to play the files on TV. However, it's just a matter of time. The techies who are clamoring for high-quality downloads are going to want to watch on their big honking HD plasmas.

Having said that, it obviously does not satisfy our desire to have DVD's YESTERDAY. So it makes sense to give the letter-writing campaign a try.

Is there any way to send a message to everyone who signed the petition? Were email addresses collected?

[Duchess of Lashes]

Unfortunately the email address is one of those things that was voluntary so while I might have it for some, I think the majority have not provided it freely. I am certainly willing to try to put together something and send it to as many email addresses as I have on file. Worth a shot!

[maggiethecat]

And here's my two cents, and thanks again, longlashes, for your perseverence.

My gut says it won't hurt to write to Stephen MacPherson, who is the Director of Programming, but it probably won't do a hell of a lot of good, either. Not because he's an unfeeling bastard -- although I'll warrant we all think he is -- but because his job is programming, not product development. He's the guy with the big board in his office, who gets the Neilson overnights on his Blackberry at 4 in the morning, and lives and dies by the numbers. It's pilot season now, anyway, and they're all gearing up for fall. I doubt he'd pay much attention. Or any. (If he's got a smart assistant, any letters regarding DVD release would probably be shifted off to the appropriate department.)

About 15 years ago, some friends and I who were interested in film preservation were bugging an executive at MGM to release, on videotape, a collection of classic MGM silent films that had been restored by Kevin Brownlow for Thames Television (The Big Parade, Ben-Hur, The Wind, the Thief of Baghdad, etc.). The man we wrote to was Director of Product Development for MGM, not the head of the company. It was his job to see what of the MGM film library was marketable. Yes, the films were eventually released (TCM runs them on its Silent Sundays program), but only because this particular executive happened to like them and realize their value.

So. It's the Director of Product Development -- or whatever the job is called -- that will do us the most good. He or she would be the one to make the determination about what existing ABC product would find a market if released on DVD; and also what product would warrant the advertising budget necessary to ensure sales. That's who we need to bug, and then cc the letters to MacPherson and ABC Public Relations.

I'll poke around and see what I can find out, also see if I can verify the ABC addresses in old correspondence files.

But I'll bet longlashes gets that address first!

PS. Disney, which owns ABC, announced this week that they will not be making their movies downloadable on the day of release, as a number of other studios are. Don't know what their posture is on TV shows, other than certain episodes of Lost and Desperate Housewives that are available for download. Once again, they only promo those shows that don't need it.

[bjobsessed]

I just sent an email to abc requesting the name of a person to direct our letters to. Not expecting an answer, but what can it hurt?

[Forensic Paws]

I'll definately be in on some letter-writing if we can get a definate address! Hopefully the knowledge that there's also fans as far away as Australia will help. Gotta try at least!

[Duchess of Lashes]

As MLM suggested in her post yesterday, this is the letter I submitted to Mr. Stephen McPherson at ABC Television. (Perhaps it doesn't follow all the proper guidelines for a business letter, but it is written more from my heart!)


April 4, 2006

Mr. Stephen McPherson
President, ABC Primetime Entertainment
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521

IN THE MATTER OF BLIND JUSTICE

Dear Mr. McPherson:

For those of us who remain impressed by what ABC Television offered its viewing audience as a mid-season replacement in 2005, March 8th of this year was a celebrated anniversary. And celebrate we did, by powering up our VCRs at 10:00 p.m. E.T. and watching the pilot episode of Blind Justice, just as we did this same time last year.

There are many from its dedicated audience who still miss it, will always miss it; many it touched because of its excellence, its uniqueness, its willingness to step beyond the realm of thoughtless television and provide us with an occasion to delve into and involve ourselves in an offering with depth and substance. I wish ABC had achieved the necessary audience to ensure the continued success of Blind Justice; I still firmly believe that those who dismissed it prematurely missed witnessing television at its finest. That said I would like to thank you for allowing us, however briefly, to partake of this incredible offering.

From what little I have been able to research, it is my understanding that ABC holds the ultimate distribution rights to Blind Justice, that it would be an ABC decision to make it available for commercial release. On behalf of those of us who saw beyond the superficiality of the “blind cop carrying a gun” premise and took that remarkable journey with Detective Jim Dunbar, I am writing to beseech you to consider the release of Blind Justice to the home viewing market. I believe, without question, that the demand and the desire are there, especially given its recent international debut, and that it would not be a leap of faith to think that the consideration to do so would be significantly rewarded.

Our previous efforts didn’t culminate with the realization of a second season so we are now ever hopeful that ABC television will allow us the opportunity to own what we still treasure all these months later, thirteen incredible episodes that found their way onto the airwaves and into our hearts.

Mr. McPherson, I thank you again for your time. I trust that if you haven’t already, ABC will give this request careful and due consideration. I have no doubt that I would be the first in a very long line eagerly anticipating that day.

Sincerely,

Lori Der-Hacopian

cc: Mr. Steven Bochco, Bochco Productions

[rducasey]

Wow, Lori, well written, sincere and right from the heart. You are great. Thank you.

[greenbeing]

Nice, sweet, to the point. I think you summed it up with professionalism and heart, LL. Very nice letter!

--GB

[Duchess of Lashes]

I have been through the list of executives at ABC/Disney and Touchstone and this is what I found as far as anyone associated with Product Development. Mr. Gersh is Vice President of Business Development but if you look at the description, it would seem that he might be a good point of contact for our little endeavor:

Bruce Gersh was promoted to senior vice president, Business Development for ABC Entertainment in May 2004. In this position he is responsible for all traditional and online business development programs across ABC Entertainment's Daytime, Primetime and Late-Night, as well as Touchstone Television. He also oversees several new business initiatives, including merchandise licensing, home video, book publishing, music soundtracks, e-commerce and broadband, and product placement for Touchstone Television.

The best address to contact him is the same Burbank address as provided for Stephen McPherson.

[Duchess of Lashes]

Putting two and two together from the Executive List for ABC television, I created an email address for Mr. Bruce Gersh that was in keeping with what appeared to be the standard, and sent him an email about 5 minutes ago. So far it hasn't come back as non-deliverable! Hopefully that means a successful delivery!

It is funny that he also appears to be tied to Touchstone Television - I emailed Touchstone almost three weeks ago and have not had the courtesy of a response! (Shock, shock, surprise, surprise! You would think I would have learned from the first letter writing campaign not to expect anything!) But I have never given up easily if I think there is still hope and some avenues left to explore.

[maggiethecat]

Longlashes, you are brilliant!

Great letter, I know you'll keep is posted (heh!), and I may I suggest a little devious ploy? All letters from those of us east of the Rockies should mention that we never saw the thirteenth episode, right? (Why tell the powers that be that, thanks to board friends with TiVo and recordable DVD players, most of us did ?)

As soon as we get the final word from longlashes? Bruce Gersh, consider yourself warned!

[maggiethecat]

Here's my contribution to the cause, addresses confirmed by phoning ABC last year:

Mr. Stephen MacPherson
President of Entertainment
ABC Television
500 South Buena Vista
Burbank, California 91521

Ms. Virginia Mastroianni
ABC Media Relations
ABC Television
500 South Buena Vista
Burbank, California 91521

And, just for the hell of it, here's the letter I write to Mr. MacPherson upon the cancellation of you know what. Not that it did a damned thing but make me feel a tad better, but I think I presented the case well in under a page. At this point they were still scheduling summer rerunms, the crum-bums, and how much do we wish they had?

Dear Mr. MacPherson:

To say that I am disappointed in ABC’s cancellation of Blind Justice is an understatement. The show was smart and gritty and sophisticated, it was written with style and substance, the cast was terrific, and Ron Eldard was, without question, the strongest lead actor on television this season. It just got better -- deeper, richer, more interesting -- with every episode.

What I find so distressing is that ABC renewed shows with lower ratings, while axing Blind Justice to make room for untried fall offerings. And I cannot understand why, when Blind Justice didn’t perform as hoped for in an incredibly tough hour, ABC did so little to rectify the situation. Surely a different time slot would have helped, or presenting the show as a multi-faceted character drama -- which it clearly was -- instead of as a cop show with a "gimmick.” Thank you, at least, for scheduling reruns this summer, where a new audience can discover how good this show is. I hope ABC will realize then that Blind Justice does have a solid following, one that would have grown with a second season.

I strongly urge you to reconsider your decision and bring this fine show back midseason, if only for a limited run. A great Stephen Bochco drama with superb production values and an Emmy-caliber cast deserved -- and still deserves -- a second chance. By all indications, however, Blind Justice won’t get one. What a shame.

Thank you for your time and attention.

Sincerely,

Etc.