Home Media Magazine - January 6-12, 2008 - (Page 3) JANUARY 6–12, 2008 >> HIGH-DEF H IG H-DE F MAR KET S HAR E Blu-ray and HD DVD Sales Comparison as of 12/23/07 Week Ended 12/23 Year-to-Date I Blu-ray I HD DVD Since Inception 39% 61% 64% 36% 62% 38% Source: Nielsen VideoScan: First Alert data RETAILERS: BRINGING DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT TO YOU >> ELEC TRONIC DELIVERY HD Disc Biz Still Small By Chris Tribbey sales, but it wasn’t what we were hoping for,” or a good part of 2007, the message he said. “I’ve talked to a handful of retailers in the industry was the same: This who still aren’t doing HD. I don’t think anyholiday season would be huge for the body will ditch it, but there wasn’t enough of future of Blu-ray Disc and a bump to get anyone off HD DVD. « IT’S JUST CREEPING UP. IT the fence, or devote more Now that Christmas is space to either format.” WAS PRETTY CONSISTENT over, retailers aren’t saying Still, there was a [FOR BOTH FORMATS]. THE “ho, ho, ho” but instead CONSUMER ADOPTION IS STILL marked improvement in “ho hum.” the fourth quarter over RELATIVELY BENIGN. » At Netflix, which rents the rest of the year, said STEVE SWASEY, both Blu-ray and HD DVD, Ted Engan, president of NETFLIX SPOKESPERSON more of its subscribers are the Video Buyers Group, using high-def, but “it’s just creeping up,” which represents more than 1,800 video said spokesman Steve Swasey, and the holi- rental retailers nationwide. “But it’s still a days showed no boost for either side. small percentage of our business,” he said. “It was pretty consistent. The consumer Much like the slow pace of releases for both adoption is still relatively benign.” formats (roughly 400 releases for each thus far), Todd Zaganiacz, president of the National retailers have been slow to play up Blu-ray or Entertainment Buying Group, was disap- HD DVD over their No. 1 competitor: DVD. pointed in high-definition title sales. “We’ve always viewed standard DVD as the “We’ve seen a slight bump in high-def See RETAILERS, Page 36 Netflix, LG to Stream F Movies to Television INSIDE >> Shut Down Wal-Mart closes down its video download site. >> Illegal ‘Heroes’ Transformers and “Heroes” were top illegal downloads in 2007. PAGE 14 By Erik Gruenwedel nline DVD rental pioneer Netflix Inc. Jan. 2 said it will offer movies and related content directly to televisions via a third-party set-top box beginning later this year. The reported $799 device also plays DVDs and will be manufactured by LG Electronics Inc. through a new partnership with the Korean consumer electronics manufacturer. Similar set-top boxes offered by Apple Inc., Vudu Inc., TiVo Inc. and Akimbo retail from $299. Netflix currently offers about 6,000 movie and episodic TV programs that can be streamed directly to the O PC. The company recently claimed more than 10 million movies and TV episodes had been streamed by its 7 million subscribers. “It’s going to be very slick and easy,” said Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, in a statement. “We want the TV experience to be very relaxing and not like visiting a Web site.” A Netflix spokesperson for the Los Gatos, Calif.-based service said the announcement was timed for the first business day of 2008 to See NETFLIX, Page 36 INSIDE PAGE 12 >> HD on PCs Analysts say more and more PCs will come with HD drives. >> HD Toons The HD DVD promotional site features cartoons. >> Amazon’s Blu Deal The site launches a buyone-get-one promo. Jury’s Still Out on 2007 Spend; Drop Might Only Be Slight INSIDE I 2007 Year In Review For our monthby-month recap of the most notable news throughout 2007, see PAGE 8 By Thomas K. Arnold re we up or are we down? As the new year begins, everyone’s wondering whether 2007 was as bad as it appeared it would be as recently as November, or whether the plethora of high-profile theatrical releases bunched into December would lift consumer spending on home entertainment into positive territory — or at least soften the blow somewhat. An exact answer will have to wait until the release of official stu- A dio-sanctioned figures by DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. But in the meantime, various indicators point to a slide in consumer spending in the 3% to 4% range — not a disaster, by any stretch, but certainly not cause to break out the champagne. DVD unit sales for 2007 are down 5%, according to Nielsen VideoScan First Alert point-of-sale data. But because this data doesn’t include See 2007, Page 36 PEOPLE Christopher J. Cookson was tapped for the newly created role of president of Sony Pictures Technologies. RESEARCH Fox’s The Simpsons Movie remained the top DVD seller while renters rushed to catch New Line’s Rush Hour 3. PRODUCT Stanley Kramer’s widow discusses the filmmaker’s work as The Stanley Kramer Film Collection hits DVD from Sony Pictures. Page 6 Page 28 Page 34
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