Paperbacks are a future victim of 2.0?

// August 29th, 2006 //

Remember when Blockbuster was considered a surefire moneymaker? Investors in video rentals were business geniuses who could expect the company to throw off money for years to come? There have been some roadbumps in that industry lately, haven’t there?
Who knew ten years ago that video rentals would be kneecapped by the popularity of online media, changing viewing habits and bloody pay-per-view?

DAMN YOU READILY AVAILABLE BROADBAND!
That’s the secret in successful business forecasting: amazing priescence and an awareness of changing customer preferences.

Mark Cuban, while arguing that online movie distribution is not an immediate threat to retail distribution, makes a point about the industry that will really be affected by downloaded video:

” … The biggest business impact of downloadable movies won’t be on the movie business, it will be on the paperback book business.”

A great soundbite, but it comes with plenty of caveats: movies are not a good summer beach read; iPods aren’t exactly welcome on flights lately; etc.

That’s why I noted that awareness of customer preferences are an important component of business forecasting: the paperback industry won’t be crippled any time soon. Downloaded movies, and their players, are still a (sizeable) niche industry.

Canuckflack