The Full Monty: Python Sales Boom Thanks To YouTube

In an effort to drive DVD sales and obviate low-quality user uploads of their work, the seminal British comedy troupe Monty Python launched its own YouTube channel this week, placing 23 3-minute-long clips online with full titles and links to buy on Amazon.com. The result, apparently: a 16,280% increase in DVD sales (as of this morning).

The Complete Monty Python’s Flying Circus 16-Ton Megaset climbed 740 places and now ranks at No. 5 in Amazon’s Movies & TV category as of this writing. The nearest sales competitors include two DVD packages of perennially-popular TV series 24, the new release of Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work, and one of the most popular films of the year, The Dark Knight. Monty Python, on the other hand, hasn’t released any new material since 1983.

Every lumberjack thinks this business move is OK.

The troupe’s upload strategy follows in the footsteps of other studios (MGM, CBS, Lionsgate) and mimics the incentives of DVD marketing. Where a DVD offers post-purchase extras to compete with post-release formats (VOD, downloads, rentals, etc), the Python uploads offer pre-purchase incentives, e.g., curated and well-organized content, which — in this specific case, at least — compels viewers to buy.

As for the 70+ minutes of video uploaded, the most popular classics are there, including The Black Knight, the Ministry of Silly Walks and Argument Clinic. Each clip’s cut from original material — some from the original BBC airings, complete with sweetened laugh track; others from the films — and include links to buy on Amazon.com. Curiously, many of the links point to a 3-disc movie set, not the 16-Ton Megaset, suggesting that the latter’s 60% sale price has a hand in the high sales rate.

Despite the troupe’s stated attempts to combat user uploads, many user-uploaded Python vids are still available on YouTube. Many of these vids are just as watchable as the official versions, suggesting that the arguments about providing higher-quality versions is merely cover for creating an organized sales vehicle. Bully for them. The curated approach exposes and endears the brand to a new generation of viewers.