Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 - (Page 4) NEWS BRIEFS I ANALYST PREDICTS CONSOLE PRICE DROP Sony will drop the price of its 80GB PlayStation 3 by $100 to $299 this April, and Microsoft will have no choice but to follow suit and slash $50 off its Xbox 360 Pro model this summer, predicts Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter. Pachter said that 3.25 million Nintendo Wiis, 1.35 million Xbox 360s and 750,000 PS3s were sold in December, boosting overall video gaming sales up 10% from December 2007, to $2.63 billion. Pachter’s research and predictions came just days before research firm The NPD Group released its December video game sales data Jan. 15. “We think that concerns about weakening consumer demand for video games are overblown,” Pachter wrote in his analysis. “In our view the best indicator of future demand is hardware unit sellthrough, and we expect a robust 9.15 million hardware units sold in December, up – Chris Tribbey 13% year-over-year.” www.homemediamagazine.com Best Buy Sings December Blues By Erik Gruenwedel RETAIL Revenue declines in computer electronics and packaged media (movies and music) contributed to Best Buy Co. posting a 6.5% same-store (open at least 12 months) sales decline for the December sales period ended Jan. 3, compared to a 1.5% increase during the prior-year period ended Jan. 5, 2008. The entertainment software revenue category, which comprised 25% of the Minneapolis-based chain’s fiscalDecember domestic revenue, experienced a comparable-store sales decline of 12.2%. Music CDs and DVD movies experienced doubledigit comp-store declines. Consumer electronics, which represented 44% of December’s domestic revenue, posted an 8.7% comp-store decline, despite double-digit comparable-store sales gains for flat-panel TVs. Strong TV sales were offset by same-store sales declines in digital cameras and MP3 players, which experienced a reduction in consumer demand during the month. In addition GPS products had significant declines in average selling prices, which more than offset TV’s double-digit unit 30 YEARS OF NEWS JANUARY I 2008 Warner Chooses Blu-ray Disc This year’s Consumer Electronics Show saw displays of technical innovations such as a sleek 39mm Blu-ray player from Samsung as well as Panasonic’s announcement it would bring 3-D technology to Blu-ray by 2010. But in late 2007 it was unclear if Blu-ray would win the format war. That all changed last January, just as CES 2008 was set to begin, when Warner Home Video announced it would solely support Blu-ray Disc, rather than both formats. The move from the biggest studio in home entertainment helped effectively end the format war, with Toshiba making it official in February by discontinuing production of HD DVD players. “A two-format landscape has led to consumer confusion and indifference toward high-definition, which has kept the technology from reaching mass adoption,” said Kevin Tsujihara, president of the Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group, at the time. “Consumers have clearly chosen Blu-ray, and we believe that recognizing this preference is the right step in making this great home entertainment experience accessible to the – Billy Gil widest possible audience.” I REPORT: ONLINE CE SALES UP, BUT IN-STORE DOWN Online sales of consumer technology products were up more than 7% this holiday season, according to The NPD Group, but that wasn’t enough to offset a more than-8% decline in brick-and-mortar consumer technology sales. Overall technology spending, including LCD TVs, notebook PCs, MP3 players, digital cameras and GPS units, fell nearly 6%, NPD reported. Of the five product categories, only LCD TVs saw an increase from 2007, up 24% in terms of units, and up 12% in – Chris Tribbey terms of dollars. increases. Video game same-store sales fell by the mid-single digits, primarily due to a shift toward software and reduced sales of large-ticket consoles, in addition to unfavorable comparisons with stronger results last year. Total revenue increased 4% to $7.5 billion, due in part to the inclusion of Best Buy Europe results and the addition of 194 new stores in the past 12 months. “While the environment continues to be as challenging as we expected, consumers are being drawn to brands that they trust, and they are responding to our customer-centric model,” said Brad Anderson, vice chairman and CEO, in a statement from the 2009 International CES confab in Las Vegas. “In this light we believe the market share gains we’ve been making will be sustained.” Separately, Best Buy said 500 of its 4,000 corporate employees elected to take voluntary severance packages offered last month. The enhanced severance agreements included seven months pay (compared to the conventional 90 days) and extended healthcare. Company officials haven’t announced whether involuntary cuts with reduced benefits are forthcoming. Adult Seeks a Financial Lifeline By Erik Gruenwedel rother, can you spare a dime … for porn? Other than the apocalypse, adult entertainment has long been considered immune to societal and economic hurdles, including the current recession. That layer of invincibility is apparently weakening due to an onslaught of content, much of it free, on the Internet. Despite generating $12 billion in revenue in 2007, sales of adult DVDs fell 22% in 2008. Now Joe Francis, CEO of Mantra I GAMESTOP HAS HAPPY HOLIDAYS Video game retailer GameStop enjoyed record sales of $2.8 billion from Nov. 2, 2008, to Jan. 3, 2009, up 22.3% from the same period the year before. – Chris Tribbey Entertainment and creator of the infamous “Girls Gone Wild” DVDs, and Larry Flynt, publisher of Hustler magazine, are asking the new Congress to provide a $5 billion financial bailout (“to see us through hard times”) for the adult entertainment industry along the lines of what is being sought by U.S. automakers. “Congress seems willing to help shore up our nation’s most important businesses, we feel we deserve the same consideration,” Francis said in a statement. Flynt even suggested Americans are too stressed by the economy to be sexually active. He said a federal stimulus to the adult industry would help rejuvenate the American libido, not to mention his bottom line. No doubt lighthearted, the ploy does underscore the capricious nature of adult consumers, more interested in easy access and quantity than quality of the product. Indeed it’s estimated that roughly 50% of all Web users visit adult sites, with the number of unique visitors to adult sites (including GirlsGoneWild.com and See ADULT, Page 20 Navarre Cuts Staff and COO By Erik Gruenwedel SUPPLIER The hits keep coming for Navarre Corp., which last week released about 50 employees, including COO Brian Burke, as part of ongoing restructuring. The cuts, which represented about 8% of the Minneapolisbased distributor’s workforce, occurred across the board, including 20 staffers from its Funimation anime division. The company last month announced it would shut down operations of BCI Eclipse, due to rapidly changing conditions in the licensed and budget DVD markets. The moves are not a surprise, as Navarre CEO Cary Deacon recently characterized packaged media results as “disappointing.” Last year it shuttered BCI’s Los Angeles operations (except for an acquisitions office) and relocated select management to its Minneapolis corporate office, among other changes. Navarre reported net income of $5.3 million on revenue of $143 million in the most recent quarter. The company stock is down 74% over the past year. I BARNES & NOBLE HOLIDAY SALES DOWN Barnes & Noble reported holiday sales for the nine-week holiday period ended Jan. 3 were $1.1 billion, down 5.2% from the same period in fiscal 2007. Compstore sales were down 7.7%. – Billy Gil Trends in new-to-DVD title counts are a tip-off to the direction of future sales. In 2004-05 the number of new DVD titles slowed, and revenue reported by DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group stalled as well. In 2005, it dipped to a year-over-year growth rate of single digits, at 5.2%. In 2006 the growth rate for DVD titles was virtually flat, and DEG revenue estimates also went flat. The following year new DVD title output dropped by 5.4%, and for the first time, DEG consumer DVD sales also declined. In 2008, the decline in new DVD titles accelerated to 10.2%, and DEG DVD sales fell by almost as much with a 9.4% decline in — Ralph Tribbey revenue. NEW-TO-DVD RELEASES COMPARED TO DVD SALES ANNUAL TRENDS: 2003 - 2008 Year 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 New DVD Percentage DEG Percentage Releases (1) Change Revenue (2) Change 7 ,411 $8.7 10,411 40.5% $11.6 33.3% 12,347 18.6% $15.5 33.6% 14,152 14.6% $16.3 5.2% 14,071 -0.6% $16.6 1.8% 13,306 -5.4% $16.0 -3.6% 11,947 -10.2% $14.5 -9.4% I ARTS ALLIANCE PARTNERS WITH FABULOUS FILM Arts Alliance America and U.K.-based Fabulous Films have partnered to release classic TV shows on DVD in the United States. Between two and three releases are planned per quarter. First up, Mysterious Cities of Gold: The Complete Series (six-DVD set $49.95), an animated kids’ show that aired in the 1980s on Nickelodeon and NBC, streets April 7 – Kyra Kudick (prebook March 10). (1) Annual DVD release totals exclude adult, audio-only, gray-market imports, DVD-R and multiple selling configurations of the same underlying title (2) Annual DVD revenue estimated by the DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group I RELEASE ACTIVITY FOR DVD Titles in Release Through Week Ended Jan. 9, 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Total Net DVD Titles Announced and/or In Release Through April 30, 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95,194+241 95,768+237 I RELEASE ACTIVITY FOR BLU-RAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . As of Week Ended Jan. 9 Released 1,080 Scheduled 130 Home Media Magazine January 19–25, 2009 http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.GirlsGoneWild.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 Contents News News News News Commentary Reviews Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 - Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 (Page 1) Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 - Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 (Page 2) Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 - Contents (Page 3) Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 - News (Page 4) Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 - News (Page 5) Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 - News (Page 6) Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 - News (Page 7) Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 - News (Page 8) Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 - News (Page 9) Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 - Commentary (Page 10) Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 - Commentary (Page 11) Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 - Reviews (Page 12) Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 - Reviews (Page 13) Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 - Reviews (Page 14) Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 - Reviews (Page 15) Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 16) Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 17) Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 18) Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 19) Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 20) Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 21) Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 22) Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 23) Home Media Magazine - January 19-25, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 24)
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