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Following the release of the highly anticipated Star Wars: Episode VII trailer, Disney announced today a paid 98-second trailer via Apple iTunes for $8.99.
The free trailer is actually 88-seconds, but according to studio executives there is a lot of great content in that extra 10 seconds.
“For nine bucks, we gotta give the consumer something,” Disney marketing chief Donald Wayne told Variety. “We know our hardcore fans want it and are willing to pay through the nose for any drop of content. For the casual fan, our free trailer is suitable.”
The company's goal is to sell 10 million downloads. “We are hoping to cover half of the production budget on the paid trailer alone,” Wayne said. “Ten million worldwide is very attainable for a brand like Disney.
“Charging for creative content is what Disney is all about. If we can sell a t-shirt or doll about a intellectual property, we owe it to our stockholders to do it.”
Star Wars creator George Lucas recently sold Lucasfilm to Walt Disney Corporation for $4 billion. With the purchase, Disney will make new films, theme park rides, and create new merchandising opportunities.
“With the death of DVD and Blu-Ray sales, consumers will pay for a sneak peak,” Wayne explains, “and that help level the loss from our traditional businesses.
“And the merchandising revenues on this franchise are insane. If we decided to sell these fans used sheets of toilet paper straight from George Lucas’ butthole, there’d probably be a 90-day waiting list. ”
Although collectable toilet paper has yet to catch on, paid trailers are becoming the film studios' best friend. Jurassic Park is currently editing a new paid trailer they plan on releasing to iTunes next week.
