Andrew,
Maybe, well better said, hopefully, we might be finally seeing the camel's nose in the tent for a redefining of the whole idea of regional distribution rights for properties such as books, movies and other sort of products. I genuinely feel for our reading pals in places like Australia & New Zealand where a freaking paperback starts at AU$20. But the other day I was looking at books on the rack in a local grocery and see paperback cover prices are in the $12-$15 range here in the US. And I remember my buying any new paperbacks when the prices nudged $5.99 back in the mid-1980s. y friends and I all really did draw the line there. But where we lived in San Luis Obispo (SLO), California there was, and still is, one of the best used book stores anywhere on the west coast. Plus it was pretty much across the street from our favorite watering-hole.
Just try buying books after 10-15 beers from around the globe, it makes for some interesting choices! But ya have to love the store with it's dim lighting, musty smell and the much required creaky hardwood flooring. It was such a fun thing. But all that aside it was the prices.
Back on topic, I hope this is the case and I also hope if it does happen it can really spur on a real renaissance of the while idea of reading and access to knowledge. I mean really, given the freely available access to information and content via the web, do these things make much sense anymore?
Of course I hope it does not threaten to stifle creativity for entities like BBC, who I feel, produce far more compelling product than our pathetic US media. Of course that is from someone in the US who completely loathes all but a handful of the gazillion channels of detritus offered on our "entertainment" systems.
I'm sure UK folks might feel differently about their BBC but know from a US POV, at least one of us over hear would move to the UK just for the TV. hahahaha
However I also don't envy the complexity of regional restrictions of books. Why it cannot be more of a cooperative reciprocal situation confuses me. The days when regional rights should be coming to an end not growing more powerful as the rights fall under the thumb of an ever shrinking handful of major industry behemoths.
I don't want to see the end of competition as that can and does spur innovation. But it also prevents, in theory, the control of what information is deemed worthy. As long as the creative people as well as the infrastructure providers are compensated fairly, I guess I prefer a system of "moderated or rational anarchy", if that term makes any sense whatsoever.