Early in 2010 Warner Brothers and several other studios convinced Netflix to agree to a 28-day delay before new releases, in the belief that this would prop up sagging DVD sales in the age of broadband video. It didn't work, thanks in large part because customers have more patience than the studios expected -- and because a Netflix subscription (despite recent hikes) still remains less than the cost of most DVDs. Despite this, Warner insisted the arrangement was a "success" and has recently been pushing to have that delay extended and imposed on all rental companies.

While they wait, the company has apparently been taking aim at library impact on DVD sales, and has been busy imposing similar delay requirements on library loans. The Swiss Army Liberation blog and MidWest Tape note that Warner Brothers is now placing a 28 day embargo on sales of Warner feature titles to libraries. They're also stripping out content from these copies, albeit at a price discount:Like so many legacy businesses impacted by broadband, executives apparently believe that making it harder for users to obtain content will prevent or slow the extinction of physical media. It will likely due neither, but it will likely continue to contribute to soaring piracy rates, a chain reaction studios haven't quite figured out a decade down the line.