Actually this episode is from the official DVD release of the final ever episode (It wasn't sold in store separately, it was done as a freebie on an episode of GamesMaster magazine). But it's true that outside of this episode there are no official DVD releases. That being said, there's only so much this restoration can do but it certainly achieves a lot more than other restorations, as I do these restorations frame by frame as still images. Each cut is in it's own folder, and I have 360 folders. Sequentially I'm processing folder 90 atm, so a long ways off, but there are several I did out of sequence that should see me leap forward a bit faster. And the number of frames in each folder also dictate the length of the restoration. If there's 10 seconds of video in one cut, that's 250 still images to process (25 per second). Dominic's opening monologue runs to nearly 2000 still images, his second one was nearly 700 etc, but the montage sequences are roughly a second long each so I can blitz through each of these fairly quickly (About an hour work per second of footage I think).
This is a very good question. Physical copies include massive up-front costs that you have to hope you recoup. Digital releases have much less costs involved. There will be some, though. To my knowledge the only episodes with a BBFC certification are the final episode and the Gore Special, as these are the only episodes to get official releases (DVD for the final episode, VCD and VHS for the Gore Special) and by UK law you must have a BBFC certificate (The age rating - U, PG, 12, 15, 18) in order to sell your video product. The costs for this are cheaper if you're not making a physical release, but they're still there. This costs a flat rate plus costs per minute of footage. For a TV Show, that's a lot of time.Exoddus wrote: ↑Sat Jul 11, 2020 1:19 pmWith how popular Netflix, BBC iplayer, Amazon Prime video etc is. Surly they could now release them to an online digital platform? They clearly didn't want to produce a physical GamesMaster release but why not digital? I mean, I can watch every episode of The Hurricanes for free on STV online but there's no official way to watch Gamesmaster!
GamesMaster has approximately 3276 minutes of runtime across all seasons. To get these rated for streaming services ONLY would cost £12,100.52 (For reference, the cost for the same licence and with no extras on DVD/Blu-Ray would be £28,445.78 - The BBFC charge more just for the privilege of releasing on disc for the same content. Extras cost more time, so would have to be an additional cost)
Then as the show is considered niche and it's standard definition only, you have to hope that someone like Netflix or Amazon Prime would see enough value in an outdated and VHS quality show to pay at least £14,000 just to break even on costs.
The easier way to do it would be to break down seasons, maybe.
Season 1 was 10 episodes (Approximately 260 minutes) so the BBFC would charge £989.58 to rate it for streaming (£2122.34 for a DVD/Blu-Ray release). That's a far easier cost to recoup. If the licence holders want to try and get more money for the property then a restoration would be best, and currently mine is the only one with a high degree of success. But restoring the show takes time, and would therefore cost (It would effectively have to be a full time job for me, lucky my costs are relatively low) and that cost would have to be included in the price paid by Netflix/Amazon etc in order for a company to recoup a profit.
Here's my breakdown of BBFC costs across the seasons;
SEASON 1: 10 Episodes / 260 minutes = £990
SEASON 2: 26 Episodes / 676 minutes = £2522.12
SEASON 3: 26 Episodes / 676 minutes = £2522.12
SEASON 4: 18 Episodes / 468 minutes = £1755.85
SEASON 5: 18 Episodes / 468 minutes = £1755.85
SEASON 6: 18 Episodes / 468 minutes = £1755.85
SEASON 7: 10 Episodes / 260 minutes = £990
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TOTAL : 126 Episodes / 3276 minutes = £12,100.52
Season 1 and 7 are relatively easy. Raising funds of £1000 for a major publishing house isn't too difficult, and it's very possible they may get £1000 in streaming rights if not immediately than over years of renewed contracts. It would be interesting if they attempted this as a litmus test to see if there is any continued mainstream interest in the franchise in the streaming realm. Either Season 1 or 7 would do the job, with Season 7 arguably granting more interest as it has the best of clips in the final episode, giving audiences a taste of what they've missed and drive interest in prior seasons. Hell, the final episode was already BBFC rated (and DVD ratings are automatically applied to streaming for free), so they could even just upload that and the Gore Special at ZERO cost (unless they wanted them restored of course).
Sadly a lot of studios/publishing companies see sales as an "all-or-nothing" game. Why release only a few episodes, is the question, but likewise fans would be happier with something rather than nothing. I don't even know who holds the rights now. Last I heard Hewland sold the rights to Future Publishing but I don't know where they may have gone from there.
I also just want to make it clear the BBFC is a legal requirement in the UK, but in mainland Europe there's a different governing body for film ratings (FSK I think) which would be required in that market, though oddly the most expensive one is in America where it is only advisory and not a legal requirement.
Sorry for the long math download haha, but these are the real costs of streaming. Much much lower than physical production but costs are still existent because most TV shows of the 90s didn't get ratings unless they had immediate VHS releases.
