Home Media Magazine - March 16-22, 2008 - (Page 6) NEWS ANALYST: UP TO 5% DVD SALES DROP DUE IN ‘08 By Erik Gruenwedel www.homemediamagazine.com Studios Rally Behind Blu-ray CDSA conference attendees also eye digital distribution By Chris Tribbey Entertainment, said of optical discs and digital downloads. A QUINTA, Calif. — Four studio VPs discussed “Packaged media is still an efficient way to get a lot of data to their Blu-ray Disc plans and the future of high-defini- customers … episodic shows are great for digital. tion home entertainment at the 38th annual Content “As much as we see in the press right now that digital Delivery and Storage Association Forum (CDSA) March 7. downloads are going to have our lunch soon, it’s not [a “We can’t be complacent,” said Bill reality].” Mandel, VP of broadband technology «AS MUCH AS WE SEE IN THE Eklund said it’s easier to take a risk for Universal Studios. “We really have to with digital copies on DVDs than it is PRESS RIGHT NOW THAT reinforce how Blu-ray is going to work on Blu-ray discs. DIGITAL DOWNLOADS ARE [better] from what we had with DVD. We GOING TO HAVE OUR LUNCH Benn Carr, VP of new technology for need to think about how we’re going to SOON, IT’S NOT [A REALITY].» Walt Disney Studios, said that all the stukeep packaged media relevant.” dios are still working on making extra BILL MANDEL Every major studio has recognized that features on Blu-ray attractive enough for if high-def is to piggyback on the profitability of DVD, no one consumers to choose high-def over standard DVD. can sit on the sidelines. “We’re still trying to grapple with what BD Live brings,” The studio representatives also discussed digital down- Eklund agreed. loading and the inclusion of digital copies on DVD and BluSven Davison, VP of content development and production ray discs, something Fox and Sony have taken the lead on. for 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, echoed their “I think there are opportunities for both,” Don Eklund, sentiments, adding that Fox will release more catalog titles EVP of advanced technologies for Sony Pictures Home on Blu-ray this year. BRIEFS I ‘BEE MOVIE’ GETS HONEY OF A TIE-IN Golden Heritage Foods is piggybacking on Paramount Home Entertainment/DreamWorks Animation’s March 11 DVD release of Bee Movie with a Bee Movie-branded, Barry Bee-shaped honey bottle. The two-ounce honey bottle is available at such retailers as Wal-Mart, Safeway and other grocery stores. – Billy Gil iting a dearth of catalog DVDs and a drop in TV DVD sales, Pali Capital Inc. projected packaged-media sales in 2008 would fall up to 5%, compared to a decline of 2% in 2007. Total DVD revenue is expected to top $22.2 billion, compared to $23.2 billion in 2007. Analyst Richard Greenfield said in a research note that the format war between HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc exacerbated the situation, but that he expects Blu-ray movie sales to triple this year. Wal-Mart is reducing the number of lowcost DVD dump bins in stores, said the analyst, who is paid to cover the retailer. The analyst said Blu-ray’s win in the format war could be undermined by bandwidth increases for video distribution. Finally, Greenfield said digital files inserted by studios onto DVDs remain a work in progress. “It remains to be seen whether consumers will pay more to purchase a movie that is simply packaged in multiple forms on a DVD,” he wrote. L I GAIAM BOOSTS REVENUE IN 2007 Lifestyle media company Gaiam Inc. reported a 19.8% increase in revenue to $262.9 million for 2007. The company’s fourth-quarter (which ended Dec. 31) revenue jumped to $81.8 million from $72.8 million in 2006. According to Nielsen VideoScan, Gaiam’s U.S. market share in the fitness/ wellness DVD category expanded to 49.4% in 2007, up from 44.7% in 2006. During the year, Gaiam acquired social networking site Zaadz, multimedia lifestyle company Lime Media, and a majority ownership of online and offline community Conscious Enlightenment. – Angelique Flores PEOPLE I WARNER HOME VIDEO UPS HORAK AND GARETON Mark Horak has been promoted to president of Warner Home Video North America, reporting to Ron Sanders, Warner Home Video president. Horak previously was the Warner Bros. home video unit’s EVP and GM of worldwide operations and new packaged media. He will take charge of the division’s North American operations, including the United States, Canada and Mexico, while continuing to oversee worldwide sales process and category management. Sanders calls Horak “a strategic thinker with a keen understanding of every facet of our business.” Horak has been with Warner Home Video since 1995, initially as director of marketing. Since then he has served in a number of executive positions, including SVP of U.S. marketing and EVP and GM for Asia, Latin America and Australia. Also at Warner, Marc Gareton has been promoted to EVP, international, for Warner Bros. Digital Distribution. He reports to Thomas Gewecke, the division’s president. Gareton previously was SVP, international, and before that was SVP, business decision support, for Warner Home Video. Both Warner Home Video and Warner Bros. Digital Distribution are part of the Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group. – Thomas K. Arnold Genius Expands Reach in Christian Market By Erik Gruenwedel SUPPLIER Genius Products Inc.’s foray into the Christian packaged-media market received a boost March 11 with the announcement of a multiyear DVD and digital distribution deal with Pure Flix Entertainment. Pure Flix is an aggregator and producer of Christian and family-friendly movies that are distributed theatrically, on DVD and electronically. I GENIUS TARGETS GAMES Determined to mine revenue beyond DVD releases from The Weinstein Co., Genius Products Inc. said this summer it will enter the video game publishing and distribution market with the release of Line Rider. Developed into an online sensation in 2006 by Slovakian university student, Line Rider revolves around a boy on his sled who faces challenges ranging from bullies and physical obstacles to usergenerated puzzles. The video game, published by inXile Entertainment, is compatible for the Nintendo Wii, DS and the PC. Genius plans to offer several game titles later this year. “This marks the beginning of our entrance into the fast growing and exciting interactive software category and expansion of our distribution expertise in multiple entertainment based product categories,” said Genius president and CEO Trevor Drinkwater. – Erik Gruenwedel Initial Pure Flix titles include an adaptation of Job’s story called The Wager, with Randy Travis, Nancy Stafford (“Judging Amy”) and Bronson Pinchot; and Hidden Secrets, with John Schneider, about a young man whose dealings with a painful past renews faith for himself and others. Santa Monica, Calif.-based Genius, in an effort to avoid overreliance on product from The Weinstein Co., is attempting to establish distribution channels in sports, family/faith, lifestyle and independent film. Weinstein owns 70% of Genius. “This relationship [with Pure Flix] is a critical component of our ability to offer content producers distribution into traditional and non-traditional retail outlets,” said Trevor Drinkwater, president and CEO of Genius. THE SPECIAL INTEREST DVD RELEASE MIX Even if you’ve been in the business your entire career, it’s a safe bet there are companies you’ve never heard of that are making a living with sales of their DVD products. Delve into the catch-all special interest category, and you’ll be surprised at what you find. As of March 7, special interest releases accounted for 24.2% of all DVD titles released since 1997 (21,014 of the 86,886 unique DVD titles released). Within special interest, instructional releases (how-to) account for 5,758 titles. This is followed by sports (2,164), fitness (1,894) and biography (1,217) titles. — Ralph Tribbey I Travel 5.3% I Biography 5.8% I All Other Groups 42.4% 1,106 1,217 5,758 8,875 1,894 2,164 I Instructional 27.4% I Sports 10.3% I Fitness 9.0% I MPEG LA LICENSES DVD TECHNOLOGY TO SEVEN MPEG LA, which licenses the MPEG-2 digital video compression technology used on DVDs, has agreed to license the technology to seven replicators following the conclusion of patent-enforcement actions in German courts. Replicators in Bulgaria, Germany, Spain, Czech Republic, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom will now be allowed to use MPEG-2. – Chris Tribbey * Special Interest DVD releases 1997 - March 7, 2008 I THIS WEEK’S RELEASE ACTIVITY FOR DVD Titles in Release Through Week Ended March 7, 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Total Net DVD Titles Announced and/or In Release Through June 30, 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84,061+431 84,599+421 I THIS WEEK’S RELEASE ACTIVITY FOR BLU-RAY As of Week Ended March 7 . . . .Released I THIS WEEK’S RELEASE ACTIVITY FOR HD DVD Scheduled As of Week Ended March 7 . . . .Released 403 Scheduled 30 Home Media Magazine March 16–22, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.