Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 - (Page 3) MARCH 9–15, 2009 Home A R C H Media RESE $600 $500 In Millions TOTAL PACKAGED-MEDIA SALES REVENUE* $150.06 million Down 7.33% from the same week the previous year. $400 $300 $200 $100 12/14/08 12/21/08 12/28/08 1/4/09 1/11/09 1/18/09 1/25/09 2/1/09 2/8/09 2/15/09 2/22/09 3/1/09 I CURRENT I ONE YEAR AGO *DVD and Blu-ray Disc Source: Home Media Research DVD REVENUE: Week ended 3/1/09: $138.21 million Down 10.16% from the same week last year. BLU-RAY DISC REVENUE: Week ended 3/1/09: $11.85 million Up 46.36% from the same week last year. NEW-RELEASE BOX OFFICE POWER Week ended 3/1/09: $23.05 million. Down 83.72% from the same week last year. 8% 92% w w w.HomeMediaMaga zine.c om NEW-RELEASE BOX OFFICE POWER Week ending 3/15/09: $174.71 million. Down 49.35% from the same week last year. >> ELEC TRONIC DELIVERY INSIDE Caught by the Web INSIDE >> More Web Content Time Warner wants Web content bundled with cable subs. >> Going Digital DisplaySearch talks connected TVs and Internet delivery. PAGE 8 Cable Could Be Blockbuster: No Bankruptcy By Erik Gruenwedel RETAIL Blockbuster is not planning to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, despite hiring a legal firm that specializes in corporate fiscal restructuring, according to spokesperson Karen Raskopf. The Dallas-based No. 1 DVD rental firm March 3 retained Kirkland & Ellis LLP, a firm that specializes in bankruptcy, including so-called “pre-packaged” or “pre-arranged” financial reorganizations. A pre-packaged filing typically includes agreements with creditors about the outcome of the company’s reorganization. Wall Street reacted accordingly, sending Blockbuster stock freefalling more than 77% in heavy trading (20.8 million shares) before being halted. Shares March 4 rebounded slightly but not before Blockbuster lost more than $94 million in market capitalization. Raskopf said Kirkland & Ellis was retained for assistance in ongoing financing and capital fundraising initiatives to replace a See BANKRUPTCY, Page 19 By Chris Tribbey ime Warner Cable CEO Glenn Britt summed up the fears of cable operators this month during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings report. “As cable networks put more and T more content online for free, that will over time start eroding the subscription revenue THE BIG PICTURE source. There isn’t a whole lot that we can do about that,” he said, as Time Warner reported a fourth-quarter loss of 119,000 basic-cable subscribers. “The reality is we are starting to see the beginnings of core cutting where people, typically young people, are saying, ‘All I need is broadband.’” Britt echoed the thoughts of most every cable and satellite See CABLE, Page 20 ONDEMAND’S PLAN By Chris Tribbey B lockbuster Inc.’s experiment with DVD movie kiosks — to compete with the likes of Redbox — is giving Bruce Anderson, SVP and GM of Blockbuster OnDemand, some ideas about digital delivery. “We’ve got a couple up in Target stores in Dallas,” Anderson said. “It’s showed us a lot, and it’s doing surprisingly well. We’re experimenting See BLOCKBUSTER, Page 19 FOX DIFFERENTIATES ITS RENTAL, SALES DISC PACKAGING ZillionTV Aims Content to Tube By Chris Tribbey very movie, TV show, concert video, sports special and documentary ever made, in one place, on your HDTV, ready for you to rent, buy or watch for free in an ad-supported format. It may sound like an insane idea, but that’s exactly what Mitch Berman and ZillionTV are working on. “You can imagine the daunting task of acquiring all the content ever created,” said Berman, co-founder and CEO of the service. “That’s what we’re trying to do here. Not everything on day one, of course. But we are building what we believe is the largest TV system ever built.” See ZILLION, Page 20 ROKU PARTNERS WITH AMAZON VOD By Erik Gruenwedel By Erik Gruenwedel E Roku Inc., manufacturer of a proprietary $99 set-top box that connects the Internet to the television, March 3 said it has partnered with Amazon’s video-on-demand movie service. The relationship means Roku owners can now access Amazon’s 40,000 movies and TV programming, in addition to new releases the same day they are available on DVD. Current Roku customers will INSIDE receive firmware upgrades alI Amazon in lowing them to access Amazon used games. VOD, which offers rentals from Page 20 See ROKU, Page 20 RETAIL Seeking to bolster packaged-media sales in the faltering economy, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment for the first time is implementing separate packaging on select rental and sellthrough Blu-ray and DVD titles, SUPPLY beginning later this month. Rental packaging reads “Available for Rental Only.” Starting March 31 with Marley & Me and Oscar-winner Slumdog Millionaire, distributors will be authorized to ship only separate rental and sellthrough Blu-ray Disc and DVD copies to dealers based on their business model. For example Marley & Me will be available as a special-edition DVD with digital copy, DVD with special features, and DVD rental with special features. See FOX, Page 20 Trans World Eyes Blu, Games in 2009 By Erik Gruenwedel RETAIL Trans World Entertainment Corp. March 5 said it would aggressively push Bluray movies and video games in 2009 in an effort to re-establish itself in the challenged entertainment retail landscape. The Albany, N.Y.-based parent of the f.y.e chain, Second Spin stores and related Web See TRANS WORLD, Page 19 >> HIGH-DEF INSIDE Sony to Bow New BD Players Sony has announced the BDP-S560, the BDPS360 and a new A/V receiver system. HDTV Prices are Up in Feb. The average price for an HDTV climbed 10% over January. PAGE 7 NEWS Viacom CEO and president Philippe Dauman says to expect fewer movies, but of the same caliber as its high-performers. RESEARCH Retail offers and a lack of new theatricals push Disney’s newly Oscar-anointed Wall-E back to the top of the sales chart. PRODUCT Fox announces best picture Oscar winner Slumdog Millionaire will come to DVD and Blu-ray Disc March 31. Page 6 Page 16 Page 19 http://www.HomeMediaMagazine.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 Contents News Cine Mercado Reviews Research Top 20 Sellers Top 20 Rentals Just Announced Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 - Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 (Page Cover1) Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 - Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 (Page Cover2) Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 - Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 (Page 1) Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 - Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 (Page 2) Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 - Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 (Page 3) Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 - Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 (Page 4) Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 - Contents (Page 5) Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 - News (Page 6) Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 - News (Page 7) Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 - News (Page 8) Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 - News (Page 9) Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 - Cine Mercado (Page 10) Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 - Cine Mercado (Page 11) Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 - Reviews (Page 12) Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 - Reviews (Page 13) Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 - Reviews (Page 14) Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 - Reviews (Page 15) Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 - Top 20 Rentals (Page 16) Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 - Top 20 Rentals (Page 17) Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 - Top 20 Rentals (Page 18) Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 19) Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 20) Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 - Just Announced (Page Cover3) Home Media Magazine - March 9, 2009 - Just Announced (Page Cover4)
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