Home Media Magazine - January 13-19, 2007 - (Page 12)

NEW ON DVD from FIRST RUN FEATURES TV DVD Edited by John Latchem www.homemediamagazine.com “A HEALING MESSAGE.” -Christian Science Monitor TV DVD Sales Still Growing By John Latchem mid a down year for home video in general, unit sales for the TV DVD market enjoyed a 3% bump in 2007 over 2006. This segment also carved out a larger piece of the home entertainment pie — TV DVD product represented 19% of all DVD releases in 2007, up from 18% the year before, according to Nielsen VideoScan data. “TV DVD continues to be a popular category, and being up proves that there are still pockets of growth in the business,” said Steve Feldstein, SVP of corporate and marketing communications for 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment had the top-selling TV DVD title in 2007 with the Disney Channel movie High School Musical 2. The original film had been the top TV DVD seller of 2006, was No. 3 in 2007 and some time in October surpassed Chappelle’s Show: Season 1 to become the all-time top TV DVD seller. The hugely popular British nature documentary Planet Earth: The Complete Series, from BBC Video, finished No. 2 for the year, but was the highest-selling complete-season set, a remarkable feat considering its near-$80 price tag. “This celebration of the wonders of our planet was at the same time a gentle warning of what we have to lose,” said Burton Cromer, SVP of consumer products for BBC Worldwide. ““That beauty and that message resonated — from Oprah Winfrey to retailers and consumers everywhere.” Planet Earth received a huge boost from high-definition sales to consumers looking to show off their HDTVs using the stunning footage from the show. The title, released on both Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD, is easily the all-time top selling TV A TOP 10 TV DVD TV DVD 2007 LABEL INDEX (Nobel Laureate, Holocaust Survivor & Oprah Book Club Author) (Spiritual Activist & Author of Healing the Soul of America) (Buddhist Teacher, Author & Peace Activist) (Author of the bestselling Care of the Soul) To forgive someone can be simple. But this simple act can have powerful consequences and may lead to a personal and spiritual transformation. The study of forgiveness has come into its own; clinicians now help guide people to forgive transgressions and get on with their lives. From Ground Zero to the Amish countryside, THE POWER OF FORGIVENESS explores this important concept, and reveals how forgiveness can transform your life. SRP: $24.95 • Catalog #: FRF 913041D • 78 minutes, color ELIE WIESEL FEATURING TITLE MARIANNE WILLIAMSON THICH NHAT HANH THOMAS MOORE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 High School Musical 2 Planet Earth: The Complete Series High School Musical Heroes: Season 1 The Office: Season 3 The Office: Season 1 Family Guy Vol. 5 The Office: Season 2 Grey’s Anatomy: Season 3 Family Guy Vol. 4 Disney BBC Video Disney Universal Universal Universal Fox Universal Disney Fox 100.0 72.5 47.9 36.7 32.2 29.4 29.3 28.6 27.1 26.1 Source: Nielsen VideoScan Prebook: Jan. 15 • Street: Feb. 19 “Confronts, with whimsy and hellfire, the clash between religion and homosexuality.” – NEW YORK MAGAZINE show on high-def disc, with high-def sales accounting for nearly 17% of all Planet Earth home video sales. For comparison, a Blu-ray for High School Musical 2, the No. 3 all-time high-def TV release, made up less than 1% of that title’s total sales. “Our success in high-def was something we always expected,” Cromer said. “No theatrical film could offer the high-def consumer the sheer variety, the breathtaking imagery, the dramas and the dangers that our planet can.” Even with the push provided by Planet Earth, high-def television product only represents around onetenth of a percent of all TV DVD sales. The highest selling season set for an ongoing series in 2007 was Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s Heroes: Season 1, which finished at No. 4. Universal also benefited from a groundswell of support for its NBC comedy “The Office”; DVDs of the first three seasons all cracked the top 10 for the year. In addition to the original High School Musical, Fox’s Family Guy Vol. 4 and The Office: Season 1 carried over from the 2006 top 10 list. When all home entertainment formats are factored into the mix, the all-time top selling TV home video is the animated classic How the Grinch Stole Christmas, which enjoyed a popular run on VHS and a resurgence on DVD, followed closely by High School Musical. BRIEFS I LOST ‘FATHER’ FOUND A missing episode of “Father Knows Best” has been found and will be included on the April 1 release of the ﬁrst-season DVD set. As reported in Home Media Magazine, Shout! Factory was unable to locate the episode “The Promised Playhouse,” and culled footage from a ﬁfth-season ﬂashback episode to include on the DVD. However, upon reading the article a collector from Dallas realized he had a 16mm print of the original and loaned it to Shout! Factory. According to Lorrie Shapiro, VP of DVD for Shout! Factory, both the original and abridged version will be offered on the DVD. The original is included in the “Play All” queue. While there was enough time to include the episode on the DVD and make the street date, Shapiro said there wasn’t enough time to change the packaging. – John Latchem I ‘NEWHART’ TO HIT DVD “Newhart” will become the latest classic TV series to debut on DVD when 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment on Feb. 26 releases season one of the 1980s Bob Newhart sitcom. The series bowed in 1982, after Newhart took a four-year break from his previous sitcom, “The Bob Newhart Show.” During its eight-season run, the show was nominated for 25 Emmy Awards. The collection includes all 22 episodes as well as three behindthe-scenes featurettes. – Thomas K. Arnold Does God really condemn loving homosexual relationships? Is the chasm separating Christianity from gays and lesbians too wide to cross? Is the Bible an excuse to hate? These questions and more are answered in this award-winning documentary, which brilliantly reconciles homosexuality and Biblical scripture. SRP: $24.95 • Catalog #: FRF 913058D • 98 minutes, color Contact Us at 800-229-8575 or email sales@firstrunfeatures.com 12 Home Media Magazine January 13–19, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com

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Home Media Magazine - January 13-19, 2007 Contents News TV DVD Cine Mercado Reviews Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Just Announced Christian Entertainment Review

Home Media Magazine - January 13-19, 2007

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