So is it actually cheaper for TV studios to license the music up front? Does the RIAA give you group discounts if you get that in the contract right away rather than if you wait?

And, with the Sopranos, VHS was still in it's hey day (at the end of it, but still going OK) when the sets first started to come out. So it's possible that people in HBO didn't really realize how much their TV shows would be successful on DVD.

$100 is too much 12 Ep. or 24 Ep. doesn' really matter.

Damn, I never paid $100+ for any of my seasons of X-files or Sorpranos.
I must buy them from the wrong place.

Sopranos Season 5 shipped to my door for $65. I'm counting the days.

To be honest, VHS wasn't really a market that was all that well for sell through. So there's the difference there. You remember the amount for a Sell through VHS that was still in the Rental Window? Ouch. talk about 70+ for one VHS.

I'm sure that music rights can be tossed into the contract much easier when it's all upfront and getting negotiated a whole lot easier then having to go back to the table years down the line to draw up new contracts for just that music aspect later.

It has nothing to do with the RIAA. If you want to use a particular song in a motion picture or tv show you must secure a FILM SYNCHRONIZATION LICENSE AGREEMENT with the copyright claimant of the actual sound recording and maybe even the actual author of the song depending on the contract between the claimant of the sound recording (usually the record label) and the author (songwriter). Each Film Synch contract is different than any other and can include rights for home video or may not. It depends on the individual deal.

I would assume that once the rights become the only thing holding back a show to go to dvd then its worth becomes higher because of simple supply/demand then when you first are signing the contract. right/wrong?

I'm with Duality. I want more "full seasons" from the cable networks. And while I'm at it I would like to see more full books of at least 500 pages or more. None of that 337 page bullish, nuh-uh!

Seriously I can kind of see where you're coming from, but I don't really see it as a rip off. Take your average dvd and say it costs $15-20 for a 2 hour movie (if that long). Now $70 for 13 episodes of Deadwood or even $100 for 13 episodes of QAF, things are roughly even. It's just a lot more to pay up front and past the expected sweet spot of $30 - $50.

I greatly prefer the 6-13 ep seasons (and they are seasons) to the "full" 22 to 24. A show, even at it's best will most likely have some duds and filler eps (Scrubs is really the only exception to this rule I can find). I don't think I own a tv show that has a longer season with an ep in the season that I do not like (and it's usually more than one).

With the exception of Season 4, which was a double-length season originally broadcast in two parts, OZ is only 8 episodes per season.

With almost all of HBO's scripted hourongs pretty much blowing everything else on tv out of the water, I would think they would be allowed a little credit as to the idea that they know what they are doing when it comes to season length. Most of their shows require a great deal of patience, and I think the 12-13 episode season really lends itself well to the pacing and plotting most of their creators and writers employ. I haven't had a problem with their set prices until the Entourage. I seem to remember most episodes being around the 23-25 minute range, and I think ~$30 for 8 episodes of such is pretty steep.