What happened to all the contests?

Was my initial suspicion correct that they are now only given away to the people with paid subscriptions with avatars?

Or are the studios not giving away any freebies anymore? (please don't use this as an excuse if it's not true!)

OK paid subscribers, let the flaming now begin!

ding ding ding. We have a winner!

Both of you are guessing, and I'm not telling

I can't wait to get my new Rod Stewart DVD!

Premium is more than just avatars.

We get coupons for free food at various restaurants, access to secret files about each member (shame on you videoguy!), and a toaster for joining.

That's pretty funny! And I do like your avatar!

But I still can't justify the extra expense just to have an avatar and the giveaways that previously were open to everyone (grumble grumble) that I never won any anyway... but I could use a new toaster! That would probably make the expense worth it!

^ Be forewarned, DVD Talk's shipping is painfully slow. My first toaster never showed so I've requested a replacement.

Don't you have to have a gambling license to offer prizes only to people who pay you money, even if the money is for something else? Is that some old legal requirement that's no longer in existence? Isn't that why all those contests that you see have alternative means of entry (like sending in a postcard, instead of just buying the box of cereal or whatever to check inside to see if you've won)? And why Publishers' Clearing House allows you to enter and win their prizes without subscribing to any magazines?

Not that I think anybody ever could have won anything like that by sending a postcard or choosing a "no" option on the entry; the skeptic in my sees those going in a separate (to be incinerated) pile at the processing center. And sorry, but I don't really care about DVDTalk's giveaways. Just curious, when I saw the thread title.

Don't worry the prizes are whatever they can find at the $5 DVD bin at Wal Mart. Or in other words 90% of the DVD's they review.