Setting Release Dates

Release Dates are the dates that determine when a title will be available for sale and/or rental on a retailer's storefront.

An order can include up to 8 different release date fields:

Not all date fields are required for delivery. If a date field is not required, then Quiver has automatically selected to not include that date. If necessary, users can manually select a date for these date fields.

Please Note: All dates entered in Quiver are treated as requested dates. Quiver requires 60 days from the date when Quiver receives the last usable asset for processing. Quiver may update any date field if the order includes unusable files or other issues that prevent the title from delivering during Quiver's usual turn-around time.

Sales Pre-Order Date

This is the date when customers can pre-pay for a title prior to its sales start date. Customers who pre-order a title cannot watch or download the title until the sales start date. Quiver strongly recommends including a Sales Pre-Order Date for every order because:

  1. A high volume of pre-orders can increase the likelihood of a film being more prominently featured in the iTunes store. That, in turn, can significantly boost sales.
  2. While the iTunes quality control process only takes two weeks, most other retailers require 30 days. Including a pre-sale window on iTunes provides extra processing time for other retailers so that the title can be available for sale at the same time on all storefronts.

Please Note: Sales Pre-Order Date is only available for iTunes. No other retailer provides pre-order windows for content.

There are 3 different options for completing the Sales Pre-Order Date Field:

  1. Enter a date in the open text field provided.
  2. Select a date from the calendar widget provided.
  3. Select "Do Not Offer Pre-Order"
    • Select this option if the title should not have a pre-order window, and should only appear on storefronts for purchase on the Sales Start Date.

Sales Start Date

This is the date when customers can purchase and download a title from a retailer's storefront. The date selected for Sales Start Date is used for all retailers, but it is possible to provide unique sales start dates for each retailer in an order. 

There are 2 different options for completing the Sales Start Date Field:

  1. Enter a date in the open text field provided.
  2. Select a date from the calendar widget provided.

Sales End Date

This is the date when a title is no longer available for sale on retailer storefronts. Any customers that purchased the title prior to the Sales End Date still retain a digital copy of the title on their personal computer in perpetuity. The date selected for Sales End Date is used for all retailers, but it is possible to provide unique sales end dates for each retailer in an order.

Protip: This field is optional, and Quiver strongly recommends leaving it blank. A title without a Sales End Date will be sold on retailer storefronts in perpetuity. Include a date only when you don't have the rights to sell a title in perpetuity.

There are 3 different options for completing the Sales End Date Field:

  1. Enter a date in the open text field provided.
  2. Select a date from the calendar widget provided.
  3. Select "No Sales End Date"
    • Select this option if the title will remain available for sale on storefronts in perpetuity. The title will only be removed from storefronts when a Sales End Date is provided.

VOD (Rental) Start Date

This is the date when customers can rent a title on a retailer's storefront for a set period of time. This time-period is specific to and determined by each retailer. The date selected for VOD (Rental) Start Date is used for all retailers, but it is possible to provide unique VOD start dates for each retailer in an order.

There are 2 different options for completing the VOD (Rental) Start Date Field:

  1. Enter a date in the open text field provided.
  2. Select a date from the calendar widget provided.

VOD (Rental) End Date

This is the date when a title is no longer available for rental on retailer storefronts. The date selected for VOD (Rental) End Date is used for all retailers, but it is possible to provide unique VOD end dates for each retailer in an order.

Protip: This field is optional, and Quiver strongly recommends leaving it blank. A title without a VOD (Rental) End Date will be available for rental on retailer storefronts in perpetuity. Include a date only when you don't have the rights to rent a title in perpetuity.

There are 3 different options for completing the VOD (Rental) End Date Field:

  1. Enter a date in the open text field provided.
  2. Select a date from the calendar widget provided.
  3. Select "No VOD (Rental) End Date"
    • Select this option if the title will remain available for rent on storefronts in perpetuity. The title will only be removed from storefronts when a VOD (Rental) End Date is provided.

Amazon Prime Start Date

This is the date when customers can stream a title in the Amazon Prime storefront. Amazon Prime is a subsection of the Amazon Video storefront that allows customers with a Prime membership to stream certain titles for free.

Protip: This field is optional, and is not required to sell and/or rent a title on the Amazon Video storefront. While Amazon does pay content owners a certain amount per stream, it is a lower rate than what Amazon pays for VOD rentals.

There are 3 different options for completing the Amazon Prime Start Date Field:

  1. Enter a date in the open text field provided.
  2. Select a date from the calendar widget provided.
  3. Select "Do Not Offer on Amazon Prime"
    • Select this option if the title should not be available for streaming on the Amazon Prime Video storefront. This will not prevent the title from being available for rental on the Amazon Video storefront.

Netflix Preferred Start Date

This is the date when customers can stream a title on Netflix's storefront. This date is not guaranteed, as Netflix start and end dates are approved by Netflix during the pitch process. The date selected in this field is the date that Quiver will submit to Netflix during the pitch process.

If "No Netflix Preferred Start Date" is selected, then Quiver will use the VOD (Rental) Start Date when pitching to Netflix.

Protip: This field is optional, but Quiver recommends selecting a Netflix Preferred Start Date that is at least 6 months after the Sales Start Date. This will encourage customers to purchase your title on other storefronts prior to Netflix release.

There are 3 different options for completing the Netflix Preferred Start Date Field:

  1. Enter a date in the open text field provided.
  2. Select a date from the calendar widget provided.
  3. Select "No Netflix Preferred Start Date"
    • Select this option if Quiver should use the VOD (Rental) Start Date to determine when a title should be available for streaming on Netflix.
Have more questions? Submit a request