Home Media Magazine - January 6-12, 2008 - (Page 32) YEAR IN REVIEW Continued from page 10 www.homemediamagazine.com » AUGUST » 1: A shuttered Hollywood Video store 2: Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man 3 3: Writers on strike 2 Jeff Bewkes, president and COO of Time Warner Inc., says studios should embrace same-day DVD and VOD releases. Blockbuster Inc. enters the digital delivery market with the acquisition of online download service Movielink. Despite inconclusive results, News Corp. says its ongoing same-day VOD and DVD release tests with cable operators will expand into additional markets. The film 300 is the fastest-selling and highest-selling high-definition title ever, according to Warner Home Video. The studio says the title sold more than 250,000 copies on HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc combined since its July 31 release. Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment, says $200 is the player price that will determine consumers’ preference for Blu-ray Disc or HD DVD. Increased theatrical marketing costs result in a first-quarter loss of $53.1 million for Lionsgate, compared to a loss of $3.6 million during the same period the previous year. Japanese consumer electronics manufacturer Onkyo bows the DV-HD805, becoming the third HD DVD supplier in the market after Toshiba and RCA. The Walt Disney Co. and The Baby Einstein Co. LLC demand the University of Washington retract and clarify a press release issued Aug. 6. The release touted a study that found watching baby DVDs may hinder infants’ language development. Facing default proceedings with creditors and possible insolvency, Movie Gallery Inc. extends its forbearance agreement with lenders to Aug. 27. A 7% increase in same-store DVD sales can’t help Trans World Entertainment Corp. offset poor music sales, and it posts a secondquarter loss of $10.1 million. Steve Nickerson, Warner Home Video’s ubiquitous next-generation disc guru, leaves the company to pursue other opportunities. Paramount Home Entertainment and DreamWorks Animation vow exclusive support of HD DVD, a year after declaring they will release movies in both next-generation formats. Paramount says it will discontinue Blu-ray titles in release. With Movie Gallery stock trading below $1, the company receives two notices from Nasdaq saying it’s not within filing requirements. Netflix Inc. rebounds from its first ever decline in subscribers to report an increase of 286,000 members and profit of $15.7 million in Q3. » » » NOVEMBER Despite PlayStation 3 markdowns, Sony Corp. posts quarterly profit of $641 million. Blockbuster Inc. posts Q3 losses of $35 million, compared to a loss of $24.7 million during the same period the previous year. Revenue declines almost 6% to $1.24 billion. Walgreens, the nation’s largest drugstore chain, says it plans to rollout DVD burning kiosks in 2008. Wal-Mart sells Toshiba’s HD-A2 HD DVD player for $99 as part of a Web-announced “secret” pre-Black Friday sale — retailers’ traditional day after Thanksgiving event. Striking screenwriters appear united in their resolve to extract a larger share of DVD and digital delivery revenue from major studios and media corporations. » » 1 service topped 10 million streams — doubling since July. Sony drops the price of 80GB PS3 to $500 for holidays. Santa Clara, Calif.-based Vudu launches a 5,000-title service with a proprietary $399 set-top-box. Entering the high-definition disc market for the first time, New Line Home Entertainment says the 2007 musical version of Hairspray will be released on Blu-ray Disc and standard DVD Nov. 20 and on HD DVD at a later date. Citing internal policy, Wal-Mart Inc. says it will not do business with David Porter, a former VP and divisional merchandise manager newly hired to a similar position by DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. Movie Gallery Inc. says missing separate interest payments to loan creditors won’t trigger default proceedings. Former Warner SVP Steve Nickerson is named head of home entertainment at Summit Entertainment. The fourth-quarter DVD release slate is heralded as one of the best — if not the best ever — due to nearly 20% more box office power than the 2006 slate. Image Entertainment launches an urban division, One Village Entertainment, for theatrical, VOD, DVD and electronic distribution. The DVD Copy Control Association’s decision to allow its Content Scramble System (CSS) software to be licensed spurs increases in companies seeking to offer Web-based downloads for DVD burning. » » » » » » » » » » » 3 » » » » » » » » CinemaNow says it will use Sonic Solutions’ movie download technologies to enable users to burn CSS-encrypted film to blank DVDs playable on standard DVD players and PCs. » » DECEMBER » » » » OCTOBER » » HP signs 30 content providers with more than 4,000 movies for its download-to-burn service. Sony Computer Entertainment America announces it will bow a 40GB PlayStation 3 in the United States for $400 — $200 less than the 80GB unit. Strong third-quarter sales close the gap in year-to-date consumer DVD spending compared to 2006, resulting in a comparative 5% decline for the first three quarters. Movie Gallery Inc. files for bankruptcy protection, citing debt of more than $1.4 billion and assets of less than $890 million. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment’s Live Free or Die Hard DVD includes a digital edition that can be played on a computer and select portable video players. » » » » SEPTEMBER A Warner Home Video study says 50% of respondents are uninterested in high-definition discs. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment projects 1 million Blu-ray Disc sales by the fourth quarter, boosted by the releases of SpiderMan 3 and Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Netflix Inc. says its PC-based streaming » » » Trans World Entertainment CEO and chairman Robert Higgins offers to buy all outstanding company stock for $5 per share in an effort to take the retail giant private. Blockbuster Inc. says it is considering offering movie rental kiosks, which represent about 4% to 5% of the DVD rental market. Bankrupt Movie Gallery files a motion with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Virginia seeking to reject a license agreement with Mark Wattles, founder of Hollywood Entertainment Corp. Sales of DVD players, especially upconverting models, total more than 600,000, trouncing sales of Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD players (57,000) during Thanksgiving week, according to a report from The NPD Group. Fox Home Entertainment reportedly eyes iPod movie rentals whereby users could select titles from Apple Inc.’s iTunes. Movie Gallery Inc. says in court filings that it plans to exit bankruptcy by the second quarter of 2008. » » 32 Home Media Magazine January 6–12, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com
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