KING OF SWEEPS
CBS airing a one-hour sweeps special on the career of Michael Jackson; the November 26 show will include a new video for Jackson's latest single, "One More Chance."
HMV asks Competition Bureau to review Rolling Stones deal with Best Buy
TORONTO (CP) - The fight over rights to sell a new four-disc Rolling Stones DVD has been sent to the Competition Bureau of Canada.
Retailer HMV Canada made a formal application to the independent body asking it to review the Four Flicks DVD retail exclusivity deal the Stones made with Best Buy and its Future Shop subsidiary. The company took the step after trying to convince TGA Entertainment, the Stones' management company, to make the DVD available, said Humphrey Kadaner, president of HMV Canada Inc. TGA never responded to the formal request, he said.
"There's the risk that this could become a common practice and make the playing field unlevel," Kadaner said. "At the end of the day all we're asking is for artists, especially major artists, to make their product available to everybody, not just HMV, and let the consumer decide."
The application, filed Wednesday, claims the exclusivity deal breaches Competition Act regulations over denial of access to supply of product as well as a reduction in competition at the retail level. It also argues that exclusive deals are objectionable to other retailers and most harmful to music speciality retailers.
The Ottawa-based Competition Bureau evaluates every application received to see if any laws have been violated, said Madeleine Dussault, assistant deputy commissioner. If the bureau suspect a law's been broken, the case will be brought to a tribunal. The process can take about a year.
"Any industry representative can come to the bureau and raise concerns with us," she said. "There's a provision that says that under certain conditions exclusivity could be the subject of review . . . but just the fact that it's an exclusive agreement may or may not be anti-competitive."
The Competition Act is over 100 years old. The exclusivity provisions have been around since 1978.
HMV, Music World and Sunrise Records pulled everything by the Rolling Stones from stores shelves on Oct. 28. The Stones responded saying the deal was made with Best Buy because that chain offered the cheapest sale price for the set. It retails for $39.99 at the 16 Best Buy and 107 Future Shop stores across Canada.
"We have always believed in having the widest range of products available to our customers," said Kadaner. "When we saw this exclusive deal we vehemently objected to it and hence pulled all the product from the stores to reinforce how strongly we felt about this."
Kadaner said the company has yet to hear any fallout about pulling all the Stones' material.
"The feedback at store level has been outstanding," he said. "Canadian consumers don't like to be told where to buy their product."
The Four Flicks DVD is a unique collection of concert footage and backstage antics.
One disc is a documentary which takes viewers from the very beginning stages of organizing the world tour to opening night in Boston. Canadian fans will particularly enjoy the footage from Toronto rehearsals and from the surprise gig the band performed at Palais Royale. There's also intimate footage of the band members with their children and spouses as well as a glimpse of Mick Jagger's workout schedule and dance rehearsals.
The 2002-03 Licks tour played three types of shows: stadiums, arenas and theatres. Each type is showcased on a separate DVD - from New York City's Madison Square Gardens, London's Twickenham Stadium and Paris's Olympia Theatre - providing fans with a wide range of songs from the band's career. There's also a five minute mini-documentary of the Toronto Rocks concert which the Stones' headlined to help the city shed its SARS-tarnished image.
Hollywood Eyes Smooth Seas for Year-End Box Office
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Hollywood's film studios enter the second week of holiday moviegoing with seafaring adventure "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" leading an armada of films that are expected to produce a strong season, box office watchers said on Thursday.
Next to the summer, the holiday period that begins in early November and runs through year-end marks the second biggest season for theater owners and accounts for more than 20 percent of total annual ticket sales.
Major releases include "Dr. Seuss' Cat in the Hat" on Nov. 21 and the long Thanksgiving weekend's "The Haunted Mansion," "Bad Santa" and Oscar hopeful "The Missing." December big guns include Tom Cruise adventure "The Last Samurai" and the final chapter in the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King"
Despite a flat box office based on higher ticket prices and lower admissions through October, industry experts believe the slew of major flicks will have box office registers ringing up sales ahead of the New Year.
"We think the strength of the holiday season films should help 2003 domestic box office meet or exceed the $9.4 billion record set in 2002," said veteran entertainment analyst Jeff Logsdon of investment firm Harris Nesbitt Gerard.
That is good news for theater chains like No. 1 U.S. operator Regal Entertainment Group, No. 2 chain AMC Entertainment Inc., and Carmike Cinemas Inc.
The enthusiasm contrasts to the start of 2003 when box office watchers forecast flat to lower ticket sales after 2002's 13 percent increase in the United States and Canada.
Through October, the domestic box office was off around 2 percent, but last week's Christmas film "Elf" from Time Warner Inc. unit New Line Cinema turned in a strong $32 million and Walt Disney Co.'s family movie "Brother Bear" proved a solid draw in its second week.
Combined with a $50 million domestic debut for "The Matrix Revolutions" the third film in a trilogy from Time Warner's Warner Bros., ticket sales now stand off only 0.3 percent year-to-date at $7.77 billion versus $7.79 billion last year, according to box office tracker Exhibitor Relations Inc.
This week, the gap could widen as "Master and Commander" compares against 2002 mega-hit "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," which spurred a weekend box office of $173 million for the third highest-grossing weekend of 2002, Logsdon said.
The holiday news is not all cheery, either. Higher box office figures have been built on a 4 percent rise in average ticket prices to $6.03 and a 4 percent drop in admissions to 1.28 billion, according to Exhibitor Relations.