Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - (Page 8) NEWS BRIEFS I ‘FIRING LINE’ EPISODES AVAILABLE AT CREATESPACE Fifty episodes of “Firing Line,” a public affairs program that ran for 33 years and was hosted by conservative commentator William F. Buckley, have been remastered by Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and are being made available on CreateSpace, Amazon.com’s DVD-on-demand service. The 50 episodes — out of more than 1,500 produced — feature interviews with Ronald Reagan, Barry Goldwater, Hugh Hefner and more. – Chris Tribbey www.homemediamagazine.com Blockbuster CFO: DVD to Drive Business Blu-ray will catch on, video games and kiosks big opportunities By Erik Gruenwedel RETAIL Despite analysts’ continued heralding of an electronic future, Blockbuster is banking that rental and sellthrough of physical DVDs will fatten the bottom line in the near term. Speaking last week at an investor conference in New York, Thomas Casey, CFO of Dallas-based Blockbuster, said the company wants to extend its dominance of in-store movie rentals into store-based sellthrough and branded vending kiosks. “While we think the digital side of the business is Casey very important, for branding and for the future of the business in terms of how we’re going to make money … it is really more in the physical space,” Casey said. The executive said increasing the availability of new releases in stores during the first week to 54% this year from 17% in 2007 is a cornerstone to Blockbuster’s fiscal-year 2008 guidance. Guidance is $1.8 billion in foreign rental revenue (30% of total revenue), $3.1 billion SEVERAL EMMY WINNERS ON DVD By John Latchem Fans of TV DVD won’t have to look far to see most of the winners of this year’s Emmy Awards, announced Sept. 21. Many are available or on their way. John Adams, HBO Video Available Now I LIBERATION GOES WITH RYKO FOR DISTRIBUTION Independent producer Liberation Entertainment Oct. 1 will begin distributing new and catalog DVDs via Ryko Distribution. Genius Products previously distributed Liberation product with the exception of music DVDs, which are distributed by Adrenaline. – Erik Gruenwedel in domestic rental revenue (60% of total revenue) and $630 million in domestic retail revenue (10% of total revenue). Blockbuster claims to have 25 million active customers monthly who visit Blockbuster stores a total of 45 million times a month, including 35 million monthly rental visits. Casey said customers spent $7.38 per visit in the second quarter, up 21% from $6.09 during the same period last year. They generated $3.29 in net rental spending (rental revenue minus free in-store exchanges and other costs), up nearly 16% from $2.84 last year. Total net revenue in-store per square foot increased 13.8%, to $34.97 from $30.72 last year. Domestic store first-half fiscal2008 gross profit grew 5%, from $931 million to $981 million. “In-stock availability is absolutely critical to driving customer satisfaction all See BLOCKBUSTER, Page 44 Best Miniseries; Miniseries/Movie Actor: Paul Giamatti; Actress: Laura Linney; Supporting Actor: Tom Wilkinson; Writing; Casting; Art Direction; Cinematography; Costumes; Prosthetic Make-up; Sound Editing; Sound Mixing; Visual Effects 30 Rock, Universal Season 2 Available Oct. 7 Best Comedy Series; Actor: Alec Baldwin; Actress: Tina Fey; Guest Actor: Tim Conway; Writing; Casting; Sound Mixing Mad Men, Lionsgate Available Now* Best Drama Series; Writing; Cinematography; Art Direction — Single-Camera Series; Hairstyling — SingleCamera Series; Main Title Design Damages, Sony Pictures tor: Zeljko Ivanek; Casting Pushing Daisies, Warner Available Now* Comedy Series Directing: Barry Sonnenfeld; Editing; Music Composition — Original Score Recount, HBO Video Available Now Available Now Best TV Movie; Miniseries/Movie Directing: Jay Roach; Editing The War, Paramount/PBS Writing; Sound Editing Mr. Warmth …, Vivendi Performance: Don Rickles Cranford, BBC Video Hairstyling This American Life, Para./CBS Season 1 Available Now Best Nonfiction Series (tie); Directing South Park, Paramount/Comedy Central Available Now Animated Program — One Hour+: “Imaginationland” Entourage, HBO Video Season 4 Available Now Comedy Series Supporting Actor: Jeremy Piven Samantha Who?, Disney Season 1 Available Now Comedy Series Supporting Actress: Jean Smart Desperate Housewives, Disney Season 4 Available Now Comedy Series Guest Actress: Kathryn Joosten Autism: The Musical, Docurama Best Nonfiction Special House, Universal Drama Series Directing The Company, Sony Pictures Miniseries/Movie Original Score Californication, Paramount/Showtime Available Now Cinematography — Half-Hour Series Chuck, Warner Stunt Coordination How I Met Your Mother, Fox Season 3 Available Oct. 7 Art Direction — Multi-Camera Series Lost, Disney Sound Mixing Smallville, Warner Sound Editing Season 7 Available Now* Available Now Season 4 Available Dec. 9* Season 1 Available Now Available Now* Season 4 Available Now Available Now Available Now Miniseries/Movie Supporting Actress: Eileen Atkins; Available Now Best Variety, Music or Comedy Special; Outstanding Voiceover Performance: Keith David; Nonfiction Available Now* Drama Series Actress: Glenn Close; Supporting Ac- Court Orders Wattles to Drop Use of Hollywood Video Name By Erik Gruenwedel LEGAL A federal court has issued a preliminary injunction against Mark Wattles’ Boards Video Company LLC from operating 20 video stores under the Hollywood Video and Game Crazy trademarks. Wattles, co-founder and former CEO of Hollywood Video, sold the former No. 2 video rental company to No. 3 Movie Gallery in 2005 for $1.1 billion. The decision by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Va., I POLAR FROG DIGITAL KIOSKS GO TO COLLEGE The National Association of College Stores (NACS) will soon feature Polar Frog download-to-burn DVD kiosks in several school shops. San Diego State University; University of Colorado, Boulder; New York University; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; University of North Carolina; Bowling Green State University and UCLA will be the first to get the kiosks, with as many as 25 other college stores joining the program by next spring. The NACS, which has more than 3,100 member stores, created a new arm, NACS Media Solutions, to act as the service aggregator, providing the technology needed to store the digital video offerings. The stores will feature kiosks with a 17-inch screen and a credit card swipe-slot. Polar Frog has more than 13,000 titles from more than 100 content owners in its kiosks but doesn’t have a single major studio agreement yet. TV episodes go for about $2.99 each, while a movie download averages $9.99. – Chris Tribbey mandates Boards remove all Hollywood Video and Game Crazy signage from its stores within seven days. Dothan, Ala.-based Gallery said it would seek damages and pursue a permanent injunction against Boards, on the grounds Wattles company’s actions subjected Gallery’s image, reputation, and market position to “irreparable harm.” “We are pleased with the court’s See WATTLES, Page 44 EIGHT-MONTH RELEASE COMPARISONS BY PRODUCT CATEGORY: 2005 - 2008 A first-glimpse analysis of new-to-video release activity prior to Labor Day (eightmonth comparisons) shows new title arrivals are down 14.8% from the same period in 2007, and at the slowest pace in the past four years. On the surface the trend sounds pretty grim. But when you look at the numbers, you find that the big “money” categories are at, or near, record levels in terms of new-tovideo title counts. New theatrical releases (where the big sales are) are up; TV DVD, multiple disc, product offerings are at record levels; and even DTV feature films are well ahead of last year’s pace. The big laggards are special interest, foreign-language feature films and theatrical catalog. — Ralph Tribbey DVD Title Release Category 2005 Special Interest 2,598 Music, Opera and Stage Performances 1,150 Direct-to-video Feature Films 838 Foreign-Language Feature Films 834 Theatrical Catalog (pre-1997) 991 TV Series Programming: Multidisc Sets 397 New Theatrical (1997-current) 361 Children’s Programming, Non-Feature 407 Adult-Themed, Non-Feature 149 Anime 525 All Other Categories * 215 Documentary 63 TV Movies 269 TV Series Programming (single-disc) 197 Eight Month Totals 8,994 Year-Over-Year Comparisons (8 months) Full Year Totals 14,040 Year-Over-Year Comparisons (12 months) 2006 2,874 1,345 751 840 819 408 422 388 183 412 185 154 221 163 9,165 1.9% 13,887 -1.1% 2007 2,744 1,022 743 928 786 380 409 378 256 346 181 142 189 151 8,655 -5.6% 12,955 -6.7% 2008 2,087 860 781 767 601 420 417 337 240 231 201 200 121 109 7,372 -14.8% * All Other Categories: Short Subjects, Mini Series, Films of the Silent Era, Cartoon Collections, Theatrical Serials, Silent Short Compilations, Stage Productions (non-musical) and Karoke. I RELEASE ACTIVITY FOR DVD Titles in Release Through Week Ended Sept. 19, 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Total Net DVD Titles Announced and/or In Release Through Dec. 31, 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tin Man, Genius Products 90,297+200 91,042+147 Non-Prosthetic Make-up Tracey Ullman’s State of the Union, Eagle Rock Season 1 Available Nov. 11 Non-Prosthetic Make-up — Single-Camera Series White Light/Black Rain, HBO Video Available Now Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking * Also on Blu-ray I RELEASE ACTIVITY FOR BLU-RAY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .As of Week Ended Sept. 19 Released 733 Scheduled 173 Home Media Magazine September 28–October 4, 2008 http://www.homemediamagazine.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 Contents News High-Def News Electronic Delivery News TV DVD Best Buy/Hastings Health & Fitness Reviews Pipeline Top 20 DVD Sellers Research Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 (Page Cover1) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 (Page Cover2) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 (Page 1) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 (Page 2) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 (Page 3) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 (Page 4) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 (Page 5) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 (Page 6) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Contents (Page 7) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - News (Page 8) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - News (Page 9) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - News (Page 10) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - News (Page 11) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - High-Def News (Page 12) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Electronic Delivery News (Page 13) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - TV DVD (Page 14) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - TV DVD (Page 15) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Best Buy/Hastings (Page 16) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Best Buy/Hastings (Page 17) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Best Buy/Hastings (Page 18) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Best Buy/Hastings (Page 19) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Best Buy/Hastings (Page 20) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Best Buy/Hastings (Page 21) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Best Buy/Hastings (Page 22) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Best Buy/Hastings (Page 23) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Best Buy/Hastings (Page 24) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Best Buy/Hastings (Page 25) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Best Buy/Hastings (Page 26) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Best Buy/Hastings (Page 27) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Best Buy/Hastings (Page 28) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Best Buy/Hastings (Page 29) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Best Buy/Hastings (Page 30) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Best Buy/Hastings (Page 31) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Health & Fitness (Page 32) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Health & Fitness (Page 33) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Reviews (Page 34) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Reviews (Page 35) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Reviews (Page 36) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Reviews (Page 37) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Pipeline (Page 38) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Pipeline (Page 39) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Research (Page 40) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Research (Page 41) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 42) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 43) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 44) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 45) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 46) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 47) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 48) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Cover3) Home Media Magazine - September 28 - October 4, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Cover4)
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