Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 - (Page 18) NEWS BRI E FS I KMART AND WWE CELEBRATE 25 YEARS OF WRESTLEMANIA World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has partnered with Kmart for an exclusive campaign to celebrate the 25th WrestleMania. “WrestleMania Madness” at Kmart stores nationwide offers a product boutique featuring WWE-licensed merchandise. Customers who buy $50 or more in WWE merchandise will receive $10 off their pay-per-view buy of WrestleMania XXV April 5. Kmart March 16 will host a live chat with WWE Superstars, who also will participate in several autograph sessions at Kmart stores throughout the country. For information, visit www.kmart.com/wwe. – Kyra Kudick Builder,” has launched a Los Angeles-based theatrical division. HIT Movies will develop family features and build upon HIT brands, which also include “Thomas & Friends,” “Angelina Ballerina” and “Rainbow Magic.” HIT home video is distributed by Lionsgate. – Billy Gil Continued from page 8 www.homemediamagazine.com Time Warner Wants ‘TV Everywhere’ increasingly important complement to live home-based television,” said Susan Whiting, vice chairperson with Nielsen. Independent analyst Rob Enderle said Bewkes’ strategy is based on the fact that with the current recession, increasing numbers of consumers are dropping cable TV subscriptions in favor of services such as Hulu and VOD to save money. Comcast reported a decline of 500,000 subs in the most recent quarter, and Time Warner Cable CEO Glen Britt acknowledged last week that cable operators must incorporate online video into their business models. “The danger here is that, over time, subscription revenue could erode,” Britt said last month, during an investor call. Enderle said Bewkes’ requirement mandating a monthly cable subscription for access to free online content gives Time Warner a sustainable Web-based business model, should traditional TV ad-revenue continue to deteriorate. But it could just be a short-term model, according to Enderle. “If Bewkes really wants to go after those that don’t have a [cable] subscription service today, he’ll have to drop the subscription requirement,” he said. I WAL-MART PROMOTES ‘TWILIGHT’ Wal-Mart will have special Twilight areas for the March 21 DVD release of the film from Summit Home Entertainment. The chain will host midnight events and giveaways, and it will distribute exclusive Twilight gifts for the first 50 fans in line to purchase the DVD movie at each 24-hour store. The retailer also has created a micro site for the film at Walmart.com/twilight. Summit has a store locator at www.twilightthemovie. com for fans to find participating retailers for its midnight release events. – Erik Gruenwedel and Billy Gil I HIT LAUNCHES MOVIE DIVISION HIT Entertainment, which provides family-brand videos of properties such as “Barney” and “Bob the DisplaySearch Confab: Digital or DVD? Continued from page 8 MTI Has Lasted 25 Years in the Industry Continued from page 6 Regarding the Lions Gate deal, partner Claudia Brahms said the deal put MTI on the map. “It gave us a chance to put out our own bigger films,” she said. “People that normally would have gone somewhere else would come to us.” Revenue sharing with Hollywood Video in the 1990s was another turning point for the company, Larry Brahms said. The Brahms noted a few of the titles that contributed to MTI’s success over the years: I The Turning in 1998, which featured a nude scene by Gillian Anderson during the height of the “X-Files” craze. “It was probably the most successful three minutes of video we ever had,” Larry Brahms said. I Timelock in 1999, the very first title MTI paid for, and Mirror Mirror II in 1995, the first to feature holographic box art. Regarding Timelock, Larry Brahms shared the story of how he broke the news to Claudia that he had paid a $50,000 advance on the title. “Claudia was pregnant with our son when I told her, and I was worried she was going to have a miscarriage,” he said. “She had a coronary.” I One Special Night (in 2002), starring James Garner and Julie Andrews. “It’s one of those titles that keeps on giving, year in and year out,” Claudia Brahms said. “I remember we were shipping that title every month. To this day it’s still a good title for us.” I Pirates in 2006, which was first an adult film before getting a few cuts to get it down to an ‘R’ rating for the masses. “Pirates has its own little place in our heart,” Larry Brahms said. “It performed extremely well, and it’s always fun to reinvent the wheel and do something nobody else has done.” Partnering with several studio partners to release more than 30 titles a year, the Brahms said they see MTI going on for another 25 years. “There’s always going to be a delivery system necessary for creativity,” Larry Brahms said. “It’s never going to die. It’s just going to change.” CLASSIFIED SHOWCASE CO M P U T E R S O F T WA R E PA C K A G I N G no returns from retailers, no stacks of unwanted product in a warehouse. The downside? Money, of course. According to research presented, 46% of DVDs purchased are bought on impulse. When people shop, they buy an average of 2.3 DVDs, often coming home with something they didn’t plan on buying. That goes away with digital delivery. “How do we replace that in the digital space?” Casey said. “And another issue is the unopened DVD. About 10% of DVDs in people’s collections are unopened.” Lastly, consumers understand studios spend less on producing digital content, compared to physical product, and as such expect to pay less, Casey said, adding, “studios do not like to pass on savings.” On top of that, consumer buying habits change in the digital world. “If every movie ever made was available instantly, for $1.99, would consumer spending increase or decrease?” Casey asked. He said he believes it would decrease, significantly. Richard Bullwinkle, chief evangelist for Macrovision, put it another way: “We believe consumers will show up in droves not to pay.” Casey also reiterated why the DVD sellthrough business is so important to the studios. “When a consumer rents a movie, about $1 comes back to studios,” he said. “When a consumer buys a movie, about $17 comes back.” service providers are still figuring out how to deal with bandwidth issues. “The broadband service provider eventually will realize they don’t have an actual brand, Anderson said. “They have an entertainmentenabling brand.” Richard Bullwinkle, chief evangelist for Macrovision, said the pace at which HDTV technology has changed and will change also is a concern. “The thing that concerns me any time we look at this is most Americans consider a [new TV] a 10- to 15-year purchase,” he said. Many consumers may not be ready to buy a new, Internetconnected TV any time soon, and by the time they do, the technology may change again. He added personalization of content will be key in the success of Internet-connected products. “We don’t want to recommend to your 7-yearold what I was watching at 10:30 last night. … The devices will become intelligent.” Anderson pointed out that a “connected TV is first and foremost a TV,” and that his company’s goal “on the digital distribution side of Blockbuster is to bring the best cinematic experience to every TV possible.” “You can talk about set-tops, Blu-rays, but it all comes down to displays,” he said. What the Research Says According to NPD research, 79% of Americans are watching network TV channels, and 67% are watching cable, but only 18% are watching Web content on their TVs. “There are a lot of ways to watch TV, but few of us are using them,” Crupnick said. A full 60% of respondents would like to watch Internet content on their TV. The same percentage would watch Web content on their TV if the content was the latest movie releases; 50% of respondents said they want content instantly, when buying a digital video. A mere 5% said they’d like to burn content they’ve downloaded to a DVD. “Are consumers starting to turn around from the own-the-DVD model?” Crupnick said. The NPD Group also presented research showing 19% of Blu-ray owners are using BD Live features, and 60% of PlayStation 3 owners use the console as their Blu-ray player at least once a month. That last figure is up from 52% in August of 2008, and 43% in March of 2008. Of on-demand video, 21% of respondents are using cable, 15% Netflix (which had the highest satisfaction response at 78%) and 12% are using iTunes. Getting Connected Via HDTVs The common themes among panelists about getting Internet content to the TV were quality and ease of use. “The adoption curve is going to be driven by content,” said Matt McRae, VP of advanced platforms for Vizio, adding that in the future, content delivered over Internet-connected TVs could focus ads to consumers based on ZIP codes. “We think this is the beginning of a transition from just TVs to fully connected products.” Bruce Anderson, SVP and GM of Blockbuster OnDemand, said today’s video consumer is in charge, whereas in the past it was the TV networks first and the cable companies second. “The complexity lies on [hardware manufacturers] to make sure Blockbuster is accessible on all platforms,” he said. In terms of access, people need a fast broadband connection to access Internet content on their TVs, panelists agreed. McRae said Internet USED TAPES & DVDS REDUCING YOUR INVENTORY? FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION CONTACT: Kurt Wohlman (714) 338-6749 kwohlman@questex.com www.homemediamagazine.com We Buy VHS, and also DVD & Video Games xtreme deo E 733-7370 (203) Vi Home Media Magazine March 9–15, 2009 http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.kmart.com/wwe http://www.Walmart.com/twilight http://www.twilightthemovie.com http://www.twilightthemovie.com http://www.rapidrental.com http://www.homemediamagazine.com
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