Home Media Magazine - January 6-12, 2008 - (Page 5) www.homemediamagazine.com MENU FROM THE EDITOR BY STEPHANIE PRANGE, EDITOR IN CHIEF www.homemediamagazine.com Did I Make the Grade? t’s prediction time in the media business, with even USA Grade: B. DVD sales didn’t drop off a cliff. However, the little Today asking readers to speculate on the future course of the disc began to show its age. high-definition disc format war. It’s also time for me to evaluate how I did looking into the crystal ball last year. Here are a few Prediction: Digital delivery of movies will continue to be of my predictions from January 2007. I’m going to grade myself hyped, but actual profit will remain elusive. on accuracy. I’m sure, dear readers, you’ll let me know if I’ve been Grade: A. The hype was certainly there, but the money wasn’t, too easy on myself. as Movie Gallery shuttered its MovieBeam, and Wal-Mart, too, got out of video downloading. Even Steve Prediction: High-def disc sales will take off DVD SALES DIDN’T Jobs changed his tune on the much-vaunted — finally. DROP OFF A CLIFF. Web-to-TV device Apple TV. He went from Grade: D. They started to grow, but certainly HOWEVER, THE LITTLE dubbing it a DVD player for the 21st century didn’t take off. DISC BEGAN TO to calling it “an experiment.” PUBLISHER & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Thomas K. Arnold EDITOR IN CHIEF Stephanie Prange EDITORIAL Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Angelique Flores Senior Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Erik Gruenwedel Senior Reporter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chris Tribbey Assistant Managing Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Latchem Associate Editors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Billy Gil, Kyra Kudick Contributors. . . . . . . . . John Gaudiosi, Anne Sherber, Fred Topel, Ralph Tribbey, Holly J. Wagner I ART Art Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Melbert Sebayan Graphic Designer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Charles Park RESEARCH Market Research Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kelly Burner ADVERTISING 800/338-6700, FAX 714/338-6712 Advertising Sales Representative . . . . . . . . . . . . John Boezinger 714/338-6704 Advertising Sales Representative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Julie Savant 714/368-1020 Advertising Sales Representative . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kurt Wohlman 714/338-6749 Group Administrative Coordinator. . . . . . . . . . Jennifer Guerena Business Analyst . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Joni Wu For reprints, call 800-290-5460, ext. 100 or HomeMediaMagazine@reprintbuyer. com For direct-mail lists, call Ilene Schwartz, Kroll Direct, 216/371-1667 FAX 216/371-1669 ilene@krolldirect.com SHOW ITS AGE. Prediction: Blu-ray will be the winner of the high-def war based on slow but steady penetration of players, including Sony’s PlayStation 3. Grade: C. Blu-ray discs consistently dominated weekly sales by a 2-to-1 margin, but Paramount changed the game by going HD DVD exclusive, and the expected knockout punch didn’t happen. The format war is far, far from over. Prediction: Current fascination with home video on YouTube and MySpace will dwindle as folks realize that it’s just “America’s Funniest Home Videos” on the Internet. Grade: F. This phenomenon is here to stay. Anyone willing to showcase themselves on the Web by whining about Britney Spears or performing some other kind of stunt can still find 15 minutes of fame. Prediction: DVD will continue to hold its own as consumers buy and rent a strong slate of hits. Stephanie Prange’s e-mail address is sprange@questex.com MARKETING Marketing Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kristina Kronenberg 714/338-6743 Marketing Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kaitlyn DeWaard Online Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Renee Rosado IN THIS ISSUE JANUARY 6-12, 2008 / VOL. 30 / NO. 1 News …………………………… CALENDAR I 2008 INTERNATIONAL CES Produced by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), CES is the largest annual trade show servicing the consumer technology industry. The show has brought together the global consumer electronics industry for more than four decades. Jan. 7-10 Las Vegas info: www.cesweb.org PRODUCTION Production Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bonnie Ling Production Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Justin-Nicholas Toyama 714/338-6765 Assistant Production Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Brady Gallardo >> HIGH- DEF OFFICES 714/338-6700, 800/371-6897, FAX 714/338-6710 homemediamagazine@questex.com 201 East Sandpointe Ave., Suite 500 Santa Ana, CA 92707-8716 Manufacturing-on-demand reveals solutions for shelf-space issues; Sony Pictures names a new technology president; Oscar screeners appear online. Chris Tribbey, Senior Reporter 818-788-8616, FAX 818-530-2486 16130 Ventura Blvd. #570 Encino, CA 91436 Year in Review 8 See a rundown of the top home media stories of 2007, from developments in high-def to Movie Gallery’s continuing saga. CREDIT Credit/Collections Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ron Wright Sr. News ………………………… CIRCULATION For subscriptions, please go online to www.homemediamagazine.com For current single copy, back issues or CD-ROM, call 866/344-1315 or 615/377-3322 for outside the U.S. Audience Development Manager. . . . . . . . . . . Sarah Joy Obaña Analysts say PCs will increasingly come with HD disc drives installed; HD DVD’s promotional group site has animated promos; Amazon promotes BD. >> EL ECTRONIC D EL IV ERY Casino Royale was among the major titles of 2007. I 2008 AVN ADULT ENTERTAINMENT EXPO Sponsored by AVN Magazine, the 10th annual Adult Entertainment Expo is the largest adult entertainment industry event. This year the AVN Awards celebrates its 25th anniversary at the Mandalay Bay Events Center Jan. 12. Jan. 9-12 Sands Expo Center, Las Vegas info: show.adultentertainmentexpo.com BUSINESS QUESTEX MEDIA GROUP INC. President & CEO: Kerry C. Gumas; Executive Vice President & CFO: Tom Caridi; Executive Vice President: Robert S. Ingraham; Executive Vice President: Tony D’Avino; Executive Vice President, Corporate Development: Claudia Flowers; Vice President & General Manager: Don Rosenberg; Vice President, Digital Media: Seth Nichols; Vice President, Human Resources: Diane Evans © 2008 Questex Media Group Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical including by photocopy, recording or information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by Questex Media Group, Inc. for libraries and other users registered with the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Dr., Danvers, MA 01923 phone: 978-750-8400 fax 978-750-4470; call for copying beyond that permitted by Sections 107 or 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law. For those not registered with the CCC, send permission request in writing to questexpermissions@reprintbuyer.com or call 800-494-9051 ext. 100. TV DVD ………………………… 16 See what shows are coming to DVD in the first quarter, including the final season of “That ’70s Show.” News ………………………… Reviews ………………………… 18 Printed in the U.S.A. Does Sunshine light up on DVD and Blu-ray? Should viewers bet on All In? Is Niagara Motel worth a visit? rushed out to get New Line’s Rush Hour 3. Wal-Mart shuts down its video download site; 2007’s most popular illegal downloads include Transformers and “Heroes.” I 2008 NATPE The 45th annual NATPE Conference & Exhibition is dedicated to global multiplatform video content. Jan. 28-31 Mandalay Bay Resort, Las Vegas info: www.natpe.org/conference Pipeline ………………………… 26 Top 20 DVD Sellers ……………………… 28 City of God director Fernando Mereilles looks back Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts ……… 30 on his film, the spinoff TV series “City of Men,” and the upcoming film based on the show. Just Announced ……………… Karen Sharpe Kramer, widow of StanResearch ……………………… ley Kramer, discusses the Guess Who’s Homer and the gang reined in holiday sales as Coming to Dinner filmmaker’s work, which is Fox’s The Simpsons Movie once again took the top headed to DVD in a boxed set from Sony Pictures; spot on the DVD sales chart, while holiday renters Disney invites viewers to see Dan in Real Life. I WONDERCON 2008 The comic book conference is returning to San Francisco for its 22nd anniversary. Feb. 22-24 Moscone Center South, San Francisco info: www.comic-con.org/wc January 6–12, 2008 Home Media Magazine http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.cesweb.org http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://show.adultentertainmentexpo.com http://www.natpe.org/conference http://www.comic-con.org/wc
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