Home Media Magazine - October 7-13, 2007 - (Page 3) OCTOBER 7–13, 2007 >> H I G H-D E F H I G H-D E F MAR KE T S HAR E Blu-ray and HD DVD Sales Comparison as of 9/30/07 Week Ended 9/30 Year-to-Date I Blu-ray I HD DVD Since Inception 46% 54% 66% 34% 61% 39% Source: Nielsen VideoScan First Alert data B R I N G I N G D I G I TA L E N T E R TA I N M E N T TO YO U 4 T H Q UART E R U N W R AP P E D Studios Wrap DVDs FOR THE HOLIDAYS Some packages are elaborate, some slim By Billy Gil he fourth quarter of 2007 will be huge for packaged media, with “the greatest lineup ever,” according to DreamWorks Animation SKG CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg. Studios are gearing up for the season with packaging that ranges from the highly elaborate to the basic and minimalist. The upcoming quarter brings the close of several franchises and trilogies on DVD, and studios have differing approaches to releasing them. Warner Home Video is celebrating the fifth “Harry Potter” film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, with several Potter releases Dec. 11. The most See STUDIOS, Page 40 Product Placement HD DVD Style Universal unveils site that allows consumers to buy stuff seen in HD DVDs By Chris Tribbey ould you like to own any of the environmentally friendly products showcased in Evan Almighty? With the HD DVD (Oct. 9), it’ll only take a few clicks of the remote. Universal Studios Home Entertainment unveiled its latest HD DVD Internet features Oct. 2 at a press event in Universal City, Calif., with U-Shop, Universal’s online store that connects viewers directly to products seen in new HD DVD feature releases, as well as www.universalhidef.com, a traditional Web site concerning all things Universal HD DVD, with new content that also can be downloaded to HD DVDs. INSIDE T W Ken Graffeo, EVP of Universal Studios Home Entertainment and copresident of the HD DVD Promotional Group, and Kevin Collins, Microsoft’s director of HD DVD Evangelism, also showed how consumers can download bonus scenes from films (ones that weren’t available in time for the production of the DVDs or HD DVDs). In addition, they shared how viewers can create fan communities around their favorite shows, send favorite movie clips to friends via the HD DVD player, create trailers, download new trailers to watch before a film and more. Viewers can purchase moviethemed collectables, fashions and See UNIVERSAL, Page 38 >> HD DVDs for Free Best Buy and Toshiba offer free discs with players. >> Panasonic HDTV is Tops A consumer report names one of its plasma TVs the best flat screen. >> More Blu BDA’s free disc promo continues. PAGE 18 Who Will Benefit From Movie Gallery Closures? By Erik Gruenwedel R E TA I L News that financially challenged Movie Gallery Inc. will shutter more than 500 stores was largely met with indifference by independent video retailers. Conventional wisdom suggests the closure of a Gallery or Hollywood Video outlet would divert additional rental traffic and business to neigh- >> E LE C T R O N I C D E LI V E RY Fox’s Chernin Critical of YouTube Antipiracy Effort By Erik Gruenwedel he Wild West standoff has moved to the digital arena. Peter Chernin, president and COO of News Corp., which owns 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, MySpace and now The Wall Street Journal, is on a non-stop quest to carve out as big a slice of the digital entertainment pie as possible. And he’s not afraid to take swings at the com- boring independent stores. But many independents aren’t holding their breath in anticipation of a groundswell business. “It could be a good thing, but it depends on the area of the store,” said the manager of Video Station in Alameda, Calif. The single proprietor said she had heard of Gallery’s See GALLERY, Page 38 T petition or shake up the status quo along the way. Last week in a webcast interview with the Financial Times of London, Chernin criticized search behemoth Google Inc. for not doing “a better job” policing pirated video on its community Web site YouTube. In March, Viacom filed a $1 billion copyright infringement suit against YouTube and Google, claiming more than 160,000 unauthorized video clips of Viacom content on the site. See CHERNIN, Page 40 INSIDE >> Video Bugs Web experts say downloaded video can bring viruses. >> Burnin’ Up Sonic Solutions, Pioneer team up. PAGE 19 NEWS An analyst says Blockbuster’s Total Access may have lost as many as 100,000 members in the third quarter. PRODUCT El Cantante director Leon Ichaso discusses his Jennifer Lopezstarring film, out on DVD Oct. 30 from New Line. RESEARCH It’s a No. 1 smash for Universal Studios Home Entertainment. The studio’s Knocked Up topped both DVD sales and rental charts. Page 13 Page 24 Page 32
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