Ask John: Why Do DVDs Contain So Few Episodes?

Question:
Why do the Dragonball Z DVDs have the same amount of episodes as the VHS? Can’t they just put a whole saga on one disc instead of selling it like the VHS?

Answer:
It’s all about money. Because DVD is still a relatively new format, and bugs and flaws in the DVD format and production of DVDs are still being worked out, DVDs aren’t as inexpensive to manufacture in bulk as VHS tapes are. Furthermore, because DVD is a relatively new format, the American license for many shows only applies to VHS and possibly laserdisc reproduction, so in some cases an American translating company may have to pay to re-license a series for DVD release. These factors contribute the the need to charge a lot for a DVD in order to cover production and distribution costs and still make a profit.

DVDs can hold a lot of data. I know of bootleg anime DVDs manufactured in Hong Kong that contain 13 full anime TV episodes on a single double sided DVD. There are several reasons why content varies on licensed anime DVDs, though. While it’s possible to fit 6 hours of anime on a single DVD, that much content requires a great deal of data compression, which results in inferior picture and sound quality. The less data on a disc, the less compression, resulting in theoretically less degrading and compromise in picture and audio quality. Another reason for the relatively small number of episodes on most domestic anime DVDs may be sometimes attributed to licensing agreements with the original Japanese copyright owner. While most DVDs are region coded, bootlegging and importation/exportation of DVDs is still relatively common. Japan traditionally includes relatively few episodes per home video release. If an American release contains more footage at a cheaper price, some Japanese consumers may choose to import the American version DVD instead of buying the native Japanese version. Japanese studios naturally don’t want to lose sales and potential profit to American companies, so it may be that Japanese studios sometimes mandate how many episodes may be included on a single American version DVD. And finally, there’s the matter of profit. Bandai seems to be the most forthright when it comes to honesty about reasoning. To use specific examples, Anime Village representatives explained when Blue Submarine No. 6 was announced for domestic DVD release that each episode would be released on a single disc because the licensing fees for Blue Sub requested by the Japanese copyright owner were very expensive and the only way to recoup that cost was to maximize the profit generated by the American Blue Sub DVDs. If Bandai had originally released only 1 disc with all 4 episodes, they would have sold only 1/4 the number of discs that they would have sold by releasing 4 DVDs, and thus earned only 1/4 the profit that they could earn by releasing 4 DVDs. In a similar tactic explained by Anime Village regarding their decision to release a DVD boxed set for only Cowboy Bebop, the individual DVDs still sell well. While there’s a ravenous market for anime on DVD, it’s only natural that professional anime distribution companies would want to sell as many DVDs as possible. The best way to do that is to stretch out shows over numerous discs. More discs equals more sales equals more profit.

As the technology gets less expensive to produce and the market gets bigger, you’ll see anime on DVD get less and less expensive. Already, there are examples of decreased costs resulting in cheaper, longer DVDs. Compare early releases such as the 6 OAV 180 minute Iria DVD, which lists at $39.95, and the 6 OAV 180 minute Photon DVD that lists at $39.99 to more recent and forthcoming releases like Shamanic Princess, Sorcerer Hunters, Knights of Ramune and Moldiver that also contain 6 half-hour OAVs, 180 minutes of footage, and retail for $19.99 up to $29.99. Or consider the upcoming Robotech DVDs which will include 5 TV episodes each and retail for only $15 a disc. As you can see, there are a lot of factors that influence the cost and content of anime DVDs, but anime DVDs are getting less expensive, and are increasingly offering better and better value for the money, and will continue to extend this trend as time goes by.