New Video Digital Aiming 1,600 New Films at iTunes, Other Platforms

The company will continue to augment online digital platform offerings as films are digitized and delivered to stores such as iTunes, emphasizing to the industry and filmmakers that their advantage is being able to bring content to market quickly.

Savage started New Video in the early nineteen eighties as a video rental store in downtown Manhattan, then moved into the supply side of the business. Although the company still makes most of its revenue from DVD sales—particularly its documentary label, Docurama—it became involved with Apple as soon as iTunes began featuring video content, quickly coming to terms with the stringent encoding requirements demanded by the store. “We do a lot of documentaries that have mixed media, stock footage,” said Erik Opeka, the senior manager of distribution for New Video. “We work closely with the technical teams to ensure those documentaries are able to make into the store.” 

Beyond the technical details, much of New Video’s work involves grassroots marketing. Working with a diverse range of independent movies, the company reaches out to outlets with specific interests that match those of the films. For the release of the documentary “Helvetica,” for example, New Video supplied various graphics blogs with typography from the movie. Similarly, the release of “Autism: The Musical” involved outreach to caregivers and families dealing with the condition.

Such tactics might play a small role in the success of large studio products, but they’re essential for the niche audiences of many independent movies. “While digital is a down-the-road business for the studios, I think there’s more to gain proportionately for independents for getting there now,” Savage said. “We’ve seen statistics where films are getting 8 - 12 percent [of revenue from download sales].” In one outstanding situation, the digital release of Ralph Arlyck‘s Emmy-winning POV documentary “Following Sean,” Savage said the director could end up making as much as twenty percent of his revenue from digital sales. “He has the shelf space and he’s able to get the word out,” Savage said, pointing out that the rush of sales wasn’t immediate. “We see independent films come in very quietly. When you get all the stuff out there, it starts to get a following.”

Although New Video has deals with the History Channel and A&E, it doesn’t exclusively work with documentaries. Last year, the company brokered the deal to premiere Edward Burns’ romantic comedy “Purple Violets” on iTunes, the first release of its kind. It also has several movies from Jim Henson Co. “Anyone is open to submit their film to us to get it on iTunes,” Opeka said. “When you do a deal with us, you avoid having to do a deal with Apple directly. Doing a deal with an aggregator is always going to be faster.”

That’s why, in the near future, New Video will have to face competition. Several other companies, including Cinetic Media, have started getting into the online aggregation business. Savage said he believes New Video can retain an advantage over rival services since it has already endured the steep learning curve involved in digital delivery, and doesn’t demand a large cut of filmmakers’ revenues. While the company will not comment on specific deal terms, industry insiders peg New Video Digital’s cut at about 15% for nonexclusive digital rights.

“We came up with an aggressive strategy that will inoculate us against some of our competitors,” Savage said. “Some are taking giant fees. We’re taking sliver fees.” He analogizes the situation to his early days in the video business. “The was a time when we were the only video store in the Village,” he said. “Then, somebody opened up a store eight blocks away. I was pissed. Eventually, there was a video store on every block. Having been in the video business since it was born, I get to see how the rules are written. We’re in the thick of it now; we’re having a blast, and astounded at how many people have joined us.”

EDITORS NOTE: This story was updated on Friday to reflect that there are more than 2,600 movies currently available on iTunes, according to New Video Digital figures.