Hollywood Hopes Rise as Blu-Ray, Digital Sales Offset DVd Decline (new)

[Kosty]

US home video sales jump 2.5 percent in Q1 2012, Blu-ray and streaming services gain traction

By Chris Welch on April 30, 2012 07:32 pm



US consumers spent $4.45 billion on home video entertainment in the first quarter of 2012, according to figures just released by Digital Entertainment Group. That's an upswing of 2.5 percent over the same period last year, with digital streaming services and Blu-ray coming away as the big winners this quarter.

Purchases of the high-definition optical media jumped 23 percent to $541 million in Q1, and Blu-ray continued to enter new homes with 2.4 million players sold. That's some healthy growth to be sure, but BD remains a long way from toppling DVD as America's physical format of choice: the latter managed to take in $1.51 billion even after a seven-percent dip in sales.


The numbers aren't quite so kind to the rental market, unfortunately: physical media rentals plummeted by 25 percent to $1.18 billion during the quarter. That shouldn't come as much of a shock when you factor in Blockbuster's continuing woes and the migration of Netflix subscribers to digital streaming.

Streaming services are clearly on an upward trend, with digital downloads and video-on-demand content seeing a 74 percent rise in sales and totaling $1.22 billion — though how DEG reaches this figure isn't clear.

Still, it's not all doom and gloom in rental land, as Redbox brought in $523 million, which represents growth of 30 percent compared to 2011 and accounts for nearly half of the entire segment. It would seem those studio-imposed delays haven't had poised much of a financial burden after all.

http://www.theverge.com/2012/4/30/29...crease-q1-2012

[Kosty]

http://www.degonline.org/pressreleas...12_4.29.12.pdf

http://www.degonline.org/pressreleas...29%2012%20.pdf

Attached is the DEG’s First Quarter 2012 Home Entertainment Report compiled by DEG members, tracking sources and retail input.

First Quarter Home Entertainment Spending Edges Up

Sales of Blu-ray Disc Soar 23 Percent

Digital Distribution Continues Steady Growth

The first quarter of 2012 saw the continued stabilization of the industry underscored by promising gains in Blu-ray Disc, with steady increases in electronic sell-through (EST) and video-on-demand (VOD) spending, and modest growth in sell-through.

Overall consumer spending was up 2.5 percent compared to the first quarter last year, driven by a healthy consumer appetite for Blu-ray. Blu-ray Disc saw continued double digit growth (up 23 percent) in sales over first quarter 2011. Indeed, Blu-ray Disc now accounts for one out of four of all of the physical sell-through dollars spent by consumers compared to less than 15 percent two years ago. The progress in Blu-ray Disc sales is even more significant when viewed as growth off an ever-increasing base.
.
Highlights for the first quarter include:

 Blu-ray Disc and EST continued their steady gains with consumer spending on Blu-ray jumping 23 percent and EST up 17 percent compared to the same period last year.

 Physical sell-through of theatrical product was up two percent for the quarter, while catalog sales on Blu-ray Disc were up 27 percent, and TV on Blu-ray sales were up 54 percent, underscoring that Blu-ray Disc is the standard for quality home entertainment.

 With most major studios backing UltraViolet, and with the support of major retailers, consumers have embraced UltraViolet’s flexibility and value of ownership by opening nearly two million UltraViolet accounts to access and enjoy their movies and TV shows in the cloud.

 The number of Blu-ray homes continues to climb, with 2.4 million players sold in the first quarter (including BD set-tops, PS3s and HTiBs). Total household penetration of all Blu-ray compatible devices now stands at more than 40.8 million U.S. homes.

 Further, 6.5 million HDTVs were sold to U.S. consumers in the first quarter 2012. HDTV penetration to date is now at more than 77.6 million U.S. households.

[Kosty]

http://www.degonline.org/pressreleas...12_4.29.12.pdf

http://www.degonline.org/pressreleas...29%2012%20.pdf

April 29, 2012

Attached is the DEG’s First Quarter 2012 Home Entertainment Report compiled by DEG members, tracking sources and retail input.

First Quarter Home Entertainment Spending Edges Up

Sales of Blu-ray Disc Soar 23 Percent

Digital Distribution Continues Steady Growth

The first quarter of 2012 saw the continued stabilization of the industry underscored by promising gains in Blu-ray Disc, with steady increases in electronic sell-through (EST) and video-on-demand (VOD) spending, and modest growth in sell-through.

Overall consumer spending was up 2.5 percent compared to the first quarter last year, driven by a healthy consumer appetite for Blu-ray. Blu-ray Disc saw continued double digit growth (up 23 percent) in sales over first quarter 2011. Indeed, Blu-ray Disc now accounts for one out of four of all of the physical sell-through dollars spent by consumers compared to less than 15 percent two years ago. The progress in Blu-ray Disc sales is even more significant when viewed as growth off an ever-increasing base.
.
Highlights for the first quarter include:

 Blu-ray Disc and EST continued their steady gains with consumer spending on Blu-ray jumping 23 percent and EST up 17 percent compared to the same period last year.

 Physical sell-through of theatrical product was up two percent for the quarter, while catalog sales on Blu-ray Disc were up 27 percent, and TV on Blu-ray sales were up 54 percent, underscoring that Blu-ray Disc is the standard for quality home entertainment.

 With most major studios backing UltraViolet, and with the support of major retailers, consumers have embraced UltraViolet’s flexibility and value of ownership by opening nearly two million UltraViolet accounts to access and enjoy their movies and TV shows in the cloud.

 The number of Blu-ray homes continues to climb, with 2.4 million players sold in the first quarter (including BD set-tops, PS3s and HTiBs). Total household penetration of all Blu-ray compatible devices now stands at more than 40.8 million U.S. homes.

 Further, 6.5 million HDTVs were sold to U.S. consumers in the first quarter 2012. HDTV penetration to date is now at more than 77.6 million U.S. households.