Copyrights Keep TV Shows off DVD

WKRP in Cincinnati was one of the most popular television shows of the late '70s and early '80s, but it is unlikely ever to be released on DVD because of high music-licensing costs. The show, which centered on a fledging radio station with a nerdy news director and wild disc jockeys, had a lively soundtrack, playing tunes from rock 'n' rollers like Ted Nugent, Foreigner, Elton John and the Eagles. For many TV shows, costs to license the original music for DVD are prohibitively high, so rights owners replace the music with cheaper tunes, much to the irritation of avid fans. And some shows, like WKRP, which is full of music, will probably never make it to DVD because of high licensing costs.

I thought this story was relevant to what we have been discussing in class. Since music is the biggest craze that has led to many lawsuits against a variety of music downloading centers. I found this interesting because, one of the largest television shows incorporated the “greatest hits” of that era. Unfortunately due to such high licensing costs the show will most likely never be able to be seen at the freedom of the loyal viewers.
Article by Katie Dean

Lauren Barnett