The man came, and he couldn't understand it. He said it was 'impossible,' everybody said it was impossible.

Greetings, Ghostwatchers!

SO... HOW COME THE NEW GHOSTWATCH BLU-RAY IS ONLY AVAILABLE IN AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND, THEN, HMM?

In just a single day since launch, we've seen a huge — and greatly appreciated — response to the announcement of the new Ghostwatch: On The Night Blu-ray.

Alongside that excitement, we've also seen quite a few understandably disappointed messages from fans in the UK and elsewhere asking why they can't order a copy. It's a completely fair question.

After all, Ghostwatch is a British programme, made for a British audience and broadcast on BBC1. So why is a new Blu-ray being produced in Britain, by a British production company, but currently only available directly to customers in Australia & New Zealand? 

The answer involves a story that actually began more than fourteen years ago... with Behind the Curtains. 

You see, back around 2012, plans were being developed for a 20th-anniversary two-disc DVD edition of Ghostwatch.

The intention was to re-release the programme alongside Ghostwatch: Behind the Curtains, together with additional material exploring the making and legacy of you-know-what. It was an exciting prospect. But while that release was being developed, the UK & North American rights to Ghostwatch subsequently moved to 101 Films. And that's simply the way the rights business works.

101 Films is a respected home-entertainment label with an established and flourishing catalogue, its own expertise and particular focus. The change in rights ownership simply meant that the particular release we'd been developing in 2012 could no longer proceed in exactly the form originally envisaged.

And so, for many years, that idea remained just that: an idea. Then something rather unexpected happened...

After Behind the Curtains sold out on DVD, we revisited the possibility of giving it a new life on Blu-ray — and discovered something incredibly exciting: the rights to Ghostwatch itself were still available for Australia & New Zealand. That changed the possibilities completely. Instead of simply re-releasing Behind the Curtains with some additional material, there was suddenly an opportunity to create something considerably more ambitious — a new physical edition bringing the documentary together with the programme it was actually about.

And there was another rather important detail: Australia and New Zealand share Blu-ray Region B with the UK. For a physical-media project, that made the territories a particularly natural fit for a UK-produced Blu-ray. After all those years, there was finally a legitimate route through which we could make something very close to the release we'd originally wanted to make. So, we decided to make it ourselves.

The really important part is that we didn't want simply to slap Ghostwatch onto a 5th, 6th, or 7th new disc. The original 2012 concept had always been about preserving the programme, documenting its creation and history, and giving it the kind of physical release it deserved.

If we were going to revisit that idea, I wanted to do it properly. That meant having total control over the production and creative direction — how the programme was presented, how the documentary fitted into the release, what additional material was included, how the packaging looked and, ultimately, the entire experience of owning it. So, we took the difficult decision to make the release ourselves. What began as an attempt to give Behind the Curtains another life therefore became something considerably bigger.

So... why Australia & New Zealand? This is where the territorial licensing comes in. Again, in simple terms, the UK & North American rights to Ghostwatch are currently held by 101 Films.

Our licence for this particular release is different. It gives us the rights necessary to commercially distribute this edition solely within the ANZ territories. Consequently, it does not give us the right to sell the release directly in the UK, North America or other territories. That distinction is really important.

We can't simply decide that because we've produced the Blu-ray, we can sell it wherever people want to buy it. We have contractual obligations to the rights holders, and we take those obligations seriously. So, when people quite rightly ask: "Why can't you just ship one to me in Britain?" The answer is simply that we aren't licensed to sell it directly here.

It's not a marketing gimmick. It's not an attempt to keep British fans away. And it's certainly not because we don't understand why people are disappointed. It's simply the territory for which this particular release has been licensed. And, contrary to certain posts here and there, right from the get-go this release has always been described as an exclusive to Australia & New Zealand. ALWAYS.

We've also seen people quite reasonably point out that Ghostwatch has previously been classified by the BBFC. That's true. However, a classification applies to a particular version and form of release. The BBFC explains that physical-media releases are subject to the requirements of the Video Recordings Act 1984, and that the material submitted for classification must correspond to the version being released.

This isn't simply a reissue of an old DVD. The new Blu-ray contains the programme alongside newly produced material, including our retrospective documentary and additional extras. An existing BBFC classification therefore shouldn't simply be assumed to provide blanket clearance for every new edition and every piece of additional material. Australia operates under its own classification system, administered by the Australian Classification Board, and physical releases are subject to its own requirements. Ghostwatch: On The Night has therefore been properly classified and cleared for the territory in which it is being released.

Of course, technically, a Blu-ray doesn't know whether it's sitting on a shelf in Sydney, Solihull, or Saskatchewan. There's no tiny customs officer inside the Amaray case checking its passport. I, myself, have a number of international media releases sitting pride of place on my shelf.

But we know where we're licensed to sell it. Our responsibility isn't simply to manufacture a disc and put it in the post. We have to operate within the territorial rights granted to us. That is why our Big Cartel store is restricted to Australia & New Zealand. Does this mean there can never be a UK release? No — but it certainly means that we cannot make this particular release available directly to UK customers under the licence we currently have.

Ultimately, this project has been a very long time coming. An idea that began around the 20th anniversary of Ghostwatch in 2012 has survived rights changes, years of waiting and a completely different route to market. Once the opportunity appeared, we felt it was important to do it properly. Exactly the way it had always been intended. That meant having the creative and production control necessary to make the release we believed Ghostwatch deserved.

After fourteen years, that vision simply could not afford to be compromised.

The response we've received from the UK has been extraordinary. We genuinely didn't expect to see quite so many people asking for copies almost immediately after the announcement. Trust us, we've heard you!

But there's another part of this release that we're incredibly excited about. For the first time, Ghostwatch is stepping into a completely new territory, and we genuinely can't wait to hear what Australian & New Zealand audiences make of it. There are people discovering the programme for the very first time, and others who may have known of its legendary reputation for years but have never had the chance to experience it in this way. After spending so long living with Ghostwatch, talking about it, researching it and ultimately bringing this release to life, there's something rather wonderful about finally letting it loose somewhere completely new. We can't wait to hear what you Ghostwatchers across the pond think! Unless, of course, you reckon it's a bit of a shocker.

Whether a future UK or European release becomes possible depends on rights, licensing, classification, manufacturing and distribution arrangements that are presently outside our control. We can't promise something that we don't currently have the rights to do — but we're certainly aware of the demand. And we genuinely understand the frustration.

Ghostwatch is homegrown. We know how strange it feels to see a new British Blu-ray that you can't simply order from Britain. We're frustrated by that, too. But we're also incredibly proud that the project that began all those years ago has finally become a reality.

For now, Australia & New Zealand are the territories in which we're authorised to sell this edition directly. We're going to honour that agreement and make the very best release we can within those boundaries. For those furiously scratching at the walls of the Glory Hole, we hope that puts things in the proper perspective.

Any further news, and you will be the first to hear it.

Just try not to have sleepless nights...