Home Media Magazine - December 16-22, 2007 - (Page 1)

DECEMBER 16–22, 2007 >> HIGH-D EF H IG H-DE F MAR KET S HAR E Blu-ray and HD DVD Sales Comparison as of 12/9/07 Week Ended 12/9 Year-to-Date INSIDE I Blu-ray I HD DVD Since Inception 24% 76% 65% 35% 62% 38% Source: Nielsen VideoScan: First Alert data HD DVD Advantage BRINGING DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT TO YOU 4 TH QUARTER UNWRAPPED HD Music Eagle Rock Entertainment plans to up its high-def disc offerings. A study says mass-market buyers are attracted by its low prices. PAGE 6 MARKETING IN DVD’S Executives say events have to be bigger and marketers savvier than in years past Golden Years Wattles Eyes Taking Back Hollywood Name By Erik Gruenwedel RETAIL The last time anyone heard from Mark Wattles the founder and former CEO of Hollywood Entertainment Corp. was basking in the $1.1 billion 2005 sale of his No. 2 video rental chain to then No. 3 Movie Gallery. Now Dothan, Ala.-based Gallery is bankrupt and Wattles wants Hollywood Video back, or at least trademark rights to 20 store locations he has owned and operated since 2001 under a special license agreement. Following the Oct. 16 bankruptcy filing, Gal- By Billy Gil n a DVD market that appears to be entering maturity, studio publicity executives have had to become savvier to reach an increasingly sophisticated consumer with DVD events that are more targeted and bigger than ever. “What makes an event? To us, it’s adding excitement and anticipation for the DVD release and helping pull it through retail,” said Steve Feldstein, 20th Cen- Some of the top events this fourth quarter have included tury Fox Home Entertainment’s (clockwise, from top left) the “Futurama” party, the Cars/ See STUDIOS, Page 28 Ratatouille event and the Spider-Man 3 stunt. I lery said it no longer wished to remain in a business relationship with Wattles and now seeks to forbid him from operating the stores under the Hollywood Video name. The dispute has become contentious due in part to Wattles’ role as a potential investor in a competing fiscal reorganization plan for Gallery, according to court records. Gallery has a separate fiscal reorganization plan before the court with private equity firm Sopris Capital Advisors. See WATTLES, Page 22 >> ELECTRO N IC DELIVERY Gallery Turns Off MovieBeam By Erik Gruenwedel ankrupt Movie Gallery Inc.’s foray into electronic distribution of Hollywood movies has ended — just nine months after acquiring on-demand service MovieBeam for $10 million. The Dothan, Ala.-based No. 2 video rental service said ongoing fiscal restructuring following its October Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing necessitated the move. “Movie Gallery today confirmed that its MovieBeam service will be discontinued effective Dec. 15,” a company spokesperson said. “The decision to discontinue the service was made in light of the com- B pany’s ongoing efforts to enhance its financial performance.” Originally founded by The Walt Disney Co. and co-funded by Cisco Systems and Intel Corp. for about $70 million, MovieBeam used overthe-air data casting to automatically See MOVIEBEAM, Page 24 INSIDE >> Porn Co. Fights Web Vivid is suing PornoTube for using its videos. PAGE 8 DVD Players Trounced HD Players on Black Friday By Chris Tribbey RESEARCH It’s not that the week of Black Friday was bad for high-def players. It’s just that it was much, much better for DVD. A DisplaySearch and NPD Group report on high-def set-top player sales showed more than 57,000 Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD players BLOCKBUSTER PICKS UP A ‘JACKASS 2.5’ WEB EXCLUSIVE By Erik Gruenwedel RETAIL Blockbuster Inc.’s fledgling foray into Web-based rental streams gets an exclusive boost Dec. 19 when Paramount Pictures’ Jackass 2.5 will be available for free online. The third installment of the hijinks franchise again stars Johnny Knoxville and his crew of human battering rams: See BLOCKBUSTER, Page 24 were sold, not counting an estimated 160,000 to 170,000 PlayStation 3 consoles. But DVD players, especially up-converting models, remain high-def’s biggest competition, with more than 600,000 units flying off shelves. For high-def, HD DVD’s lower price (an See DVD, Page 24 PEOPLE Industry veteran Sandy Friedman has been named EVP of home entertainment at Summit Entertainment. RESEARCH Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End topped the sales chart in its first week in stores. Page 4 Page 18

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - December 16-22, 2007

Home Media Magazine - December 16-22, 2007 Contents News Reviews Pipeline Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced

Home Media Magazine - December 16-22, 2007

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