Author Topic: Warner Home Video Philippines shutting down (Read 18206 times)

firewired · « **on:** Jan 22, 2009 at 04:20 PM »

I received confirmation that Warner Home Video will be closing their local subsidiary office late next month in line with a global reorganization to streamline operations and cut cost. WHV Korea and WHV Hongkong were the first to go last year. Others will follow in the next few months.

Rest assured that Warner is NOT exiting the Philippine market as far as its DVD products are concerned though a period of disruption is expected. As such, new title releases for the 1st quarter are unlikely and it doesn't look like Blu-ray will be happening anytime soon.

Moving forward, a local licensee will likely take over Warner's distribution (ala Magna and Viva) sometime this year though it's not clear if this will impact the number of releases that will be available or if current price points will be affected.

juanch · « **Reply #1 on:** Jan 22, 2009 at 04:35 PM »

Will this affect the quality of the packaging of subsequent releases?
And how will this affect their pricing?

Mr. Hankey · « **Reply #2 on:** Jan 22, 2009 at 09:06 PM »

This is a very sad development. I'm among the members here old enough to remember when all we had available for home video were pirated videocassettes. Warner Home Video was the very first company that came in and offered Filipinos original products. One of the very first shops to offer their videocassettes was Blooming Rose in the former Virra Mall. For a market that was exclusively pirated, these tapes were rather expensive, but were of very good quality. Far better than what Magnavision, Solar and Viva offered when they subsequently entered the original videocassette industry. I still have my very first Warner Home Video purchase: a Betamax copy of Dr. No.

Through the years, Warner maintained the higher quality of their products relative to their competition. One only needs to check the various complaints regarding missing special features and lousy packaging directed at R3 DVDs released by Magnavision and Viva. While Warner also had a few DVD releases that did not meet the high standards of the PinoyDVD "elite" (most recently the picture quality of The Dark Knight, a problem that was universal, not just on R3), their hits far outnumbered their misses. They were the only company to offer completely imported products in the recent years.

This is the end of an era. I do hope that whichever company picks up distribution rights to the Warner catalog can continue to offer us the same quality we've learned to expect from Warner DVD releases - the gold standard for Philippine R3 releases.

Best of luck to all the Warner Home Video Philippines employees who will be losing their jobs in this particularly harsh job climate.

techdude · « **Reply #3 on:** Jan 22, 2009 at 10:38 PM »

Hope it will not affect the quantity of releases (once the local partner takes over) especially when it comes to TV Series, where Warner is the most consistent in releasing them.

allanmandy · « **Reply #4 on:** Jan 23, 2009 at 12:55 AM »

Sad news indeed.

I'm also wondering if the Warner sales reps in Astro shops will be affected? Kawawa naman sila if ever.

thegoodbyeguy · « **Reply #5 on:** Jan 23, 2009 at 01:08 AM »

Quote from: Mr. Hankey on Jan 22, 2009 at 09:06 PM

Through the years, Warner maintained the higher quality of their products relative to their competition. One only needs to check the various complaints regarding missing special features and lousy packaging directed at R3 DVDs released by Magnavision and Viva. While Warner also had a few DVD releases that did not meet the high standards of the PinoyDVD "elite" (most recently the picture quality of The Dark Knight, a problem that was universal, not just on R3), their hits far outnumbered their misses. They were the only company to offer completely imported products in the recent years.

Quote from: techdude on Jan 22, 2009 at 10:38 PM

Hope it will not affect the quantity of releases (once the local partner takes over) especially when it comes to TV Series, where Warner is the most consistent in releasing them.

Well said. Warner video packaging being released here mirrors that in the U.S. Not 'crappy' looking.

maidenmasher69 · « **Reply #6 on:** Jan 23, 2009 at 06:55 AM »

Sad news for Warner's operation here in the Philippines.

firewired · « **Reply #7 on:** Jan 23, 2009 at 07:14 AM »

We've been working closely with WHV for several years now and they've always been very, very supportive of PinoyDVD. Extremely professional bunch and really quality-oriented with regard to their releases. The sales and marketing groups were constantly querying us for feedback and visiting the forum for our collective insights on DVD. I remember attending a meeting once where printouts of various posts were part of the reference material for the discussion.

They will definitely be missed.

From what I've heard, Warner has a global HR policy on closures/shutdowns. As for the promo girls, they're apparently hired through a third-party staffing agency and will probably be redeployed into other accounts.

d4nu65+3R · « **Reply #8 on:** Jan 23, 2009 at 07:27 AM »

i wonder, will warner pull all existing products in stores once they close shop?

firewired · « **Reply #9 on:** Jan 23, 2009 at 08:00 AM »

It's possible that all unpaid stock will be returned to Warner's warehouse for cataloging/processing/evaluation. When the new licensee takes over, these will logically form part of their inventory. Unfrotunately, the way I understand it, there's no guarantee that the same price points will be maintained when the titles are re-released to retailers.

d4nu65+3R · « **Reply #10 on:** Jan 23, 2009 at 09:45 AM »

price is really not much of a concern in my case, since the worst case scenario in terms of pricing would probably be the 750-895 ceilings adopted by magna/viva. what really worries me is the eventual downgrade in terms of quality and packaging of subsequent dvd releases down the line if the new licensee opts to produce the discs locally. lagot na, ang pangit na sigurado ng watchmen pag labas ng dvd.

question: does this move/shutdown include warner music philippines?

Fat Makoy · « **Reply #11 on:** Jan 23, 2009 at 10:09 AM »

Just waited sir firewired to post the news here. Thanks sir!

It was the saddest day in the office! i still remember when HR representatives from Asia Pacific came over and annouced the shocking news. Kinabukasan, lahat ng tao walang kibo. walang ingay at halos walang nagsasalita.

Most of the employees of WHV were very kind, humble and down to earth. They will surely be missed.

:'(

deo · « **Reply #12 on:** Jan 23, 2009 at 11:05 AM »

vp_ortiz · « **Reply #13 on:** Jan 23, 2009 at 01:39 PM »

Truly shocking news... panu nyan yung remaining Harry Potter releases and other Batman movies? Ma-O.C. pa naman ako sa continuity. Sana there would not be a downgrade on quality. Truly sad news. :-(

ob120485 · « **Reply #14 on:** Jan 23, 2009 at 02:18 PM »

Sayang naman... Majority of my titles here are from Warner more or less 50%. Well, while supplies last, I guess we have to grab na what we want to grab.

Sana lang ma replace na ung Superman disc 1 defect ko noh bago sila mag alsa balutan...

My GREATEST FEAR: Since 'this company' is the one who distribute Warner's sister studio New Line Cinema's movies, SANA LANG HINDI Concorde's C Interactive ung makakakuha ng distribution license. By my reckoning, possible tong mangyari... Hopefully mali ako...

NeoXorn · « **Reply #15 on:** Jan 23, 2009 at 08:00 PM »

Damn!

Sad news.

'yung R3 release pa naman nila parang R1 'yung quality.

Stay strong Warner Home Video Philippines employees. Hirap pa naman mag-hanap ng work today.

frootloops · « **Reply #16 on:** Jan 23, 2009 at 08:11 PM »

Are they shutting down only here or even some in Asia? It is really hard to do business in a country where piracy is legal and widely accepted.

iiinas · « **Reply #17 on:** Jan 23, 2009 at 08:56 PM »

sad news indeed.

techdude · « **Reply #18 on:** Jan 23, 2009 at 09:00 PM »

It's no wonder they had slashed down the prices of their boxsets so drastically (ie Sopranos for 499). Talagang going-out-of-business and dating...

Wonder how it will affect PinoyDVD.biz. Will all their WB stocks be pulled out first, and restocked by the new distributor?

Mr. Hankey · « **Reply #19 on:** Jan 24, 2009 at 12:03 AM »

Quote from: ob120485 on Jan 23, 2009 at 02:18 PM

My GREATEST FEAR: Since 'this company' is the one who distribute Warner's sister studio New Line Cinema's movies, SANA LANG HINDI Concorde's C Interactive ung makakakuha ng distribution license. By my reckoning, possible tong mangyari... Hopefully mali ako...

This is also a genuine concern of mine, due to the company's previous relationship with Warner. During the transition from VHS to VCD, D'Concorde actually was the company that was releasing WARNER VCDs into the local market! I know this since I bought FRIENDS VCDs (before they were released on DVD even on R1) that were PAL-formatted, and had them replaced with NTSC versions at the D'Concorde office in Timog. I still have these VCDs, and they have a "Distributed in the Philippines by D'Concorde Recording Group" sticker on the back panel.

stickfighter · « **Reply #20 on:** Jan 24, 2009 at 01:42 AM »

Quote from: firewired on Jan 22, 2009 at 04:20 PM

I received confirmation that Warner Home Video will be closing their local subsidiary office late next month in line with a GLOBAL REORGANIZATION to STREAMLINE OPERATIONS and CUT COST.

Just a thought...this might be more of a "repackaging" on how films will be distributed from now on. Maybe next time, no more dvd's...DIGITAL FILES na ang ibebenta?

It all falls into place...

GLOBAL REORGANIZATION - naturally, a move from hard copy to soft copy of films would really have a global reorganization of some sort. Lets not forget, we are in the DIGITAL era.

STREAMLINE OPERATIONS - this will be greatly affected as well, since they will have to find a way to legally distribute films in digital files, without it being copied or shared, just like buying an original dvd for yourself at present. Alot of movie files downloaded from torrents are ripped from either DVD, HDD or BD as sources. Eliminating these "hard copies" would really give them control on the streamlining/distribution of the DIGITAL files.

CUT COST - by distributing digital files, you cut cost by not using raw materials for the disc and packaging as well. Lower overhead expenses globally.

Oh well....just my 2 cents! I could be wrong you know...

Dan · « **Reply #21 on:** Jan 24, 2009 at 03:12 AM »

Quote from: Mr. Hankey on Jan 24, 2009 at 12:03 AM

This is also a genuine concern of mine, due to the company's previous relationship with Warner. During the transition from VHS to VCD, D'Concorde actually was the company that was releasing WARNER VCDs into the local market! I know this since I bought FRIENDS VCDs (before they were released on DVD even on R1) that were PAL-formatted, and had them replaced with NTSC versions at the D'Concorde office in Timog. I still have these VCDs, and they have a "Distributed in the Philippines by D'Concorde Recording Group" sticker on the back panel.

Which begs the question: After all these years, does C-Interactive even have a clue that there's such a thing called "The Internet" and a group called "PinoyDVD"?

I'm serious. Unlike every other media distribution outlet out there that have heard of us, I have never heard of any feedback that C-Interactive even knows there's an... Internet. I'm serious.

riverfan · « **Reply #22 on:** Jan 26, 2009 at 09:12 AM »

:'(

very sad news indeed.

frootloops · « **Reply #23 on:** Jan 29, 2009 at 07:15 PM »

I was told that Magna will be taking over it's distribution? Still unconfirmed though...

marvel · « **Reply #24 on:** Jan 30, 2009 at 06:11 PM »

Which do you prefer to release Warner: Magnavision or Viva?

ob120485 · « **Reply #25 on:** Jan 30, 2009 at 08:16 PM »

Quote from: marvel on Jan 30, 2009 at 06:11 PM

Which do you prefer to release Warner: Magnavision or Viva?

I vote Viva!

thegoodbyeguy · « **Reply #26 on:** Jan 30, 2009 at 08:38 PM »

Quote from: marvel on Jan 30, 2009 at 06:11 PM

Which do you prefer to release Warner: Magnavision or Viva?

VIVA has a better packaging and video quality than Magna as far as I'm concerned which also goes to say that it doesn't mean they will do justice once they took over as Warner's distributor. I'm referring to their 20th Century Fox releases which is quite impressive. But their other releases leaves a lot to be desired.

techdude · « **Reply #27 on:** Jan 30, 2009 at 10:29 PM »

If Magna takes over, one question is will it means that Warner's all imported policy could end?

Magna does have a better record of releasing 'most' movies and TV Series, Viva is erratic...

Viva discount faster than Magna.

I am neutral to both... Maybe Magna on account, that it releases more films and giftsets...

jekoy · « **Reply #28 on:** Jan 31, 2009 at 10:43 AM »

what about getting WB's releases on time or earlier? magna and viva both release their movies later than their R1 counterparts.

duncanfranchise · « **Reply #29 on:** Jan 31, 2009 at 04:18 PM »

There's actually a third party bidding for Warner's distribution rights. From what I heard, it isn't C Interactive. In a way, we can all heave a collective sigh of relief.