Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - (Page 20) NEWS P E O P LE I BORDERS NAMES NEW CEO Borders announced a new CEO and other top managers Jan. 5 when it also reported weak holiday sales. The bookselling chain named Ron Marshall, 54, the founder of private equity firm Wildridge Capital Management, to replace George Jones as CEO and also serve as president and a director. The company said Marshall had been involved in the turnaround of other companies as CEO of food distributor and retailer Nash Finch Co. during its financial difficulties and as CFO of Pathmark Stores Inc., now a unit of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. The Ann Arbor, Mich.-based company also said its stock is in danger of being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. Company shares have lost nearly all their value in recent months as they face larger-thanexpected losses. – Angelique Flores Continued from page 4 www.homemediamagazine.com Trans World Sees Sales Drops of $15 million to $20 million with an annual EBITDA loss for fiscal-2008 in the range of $20 million to $25 million.” The retailer previously issued annual guidance from $10 million to $15 million. “Our promotional strategy was not enough to upset the impact of a difficult economy, two major snow storms and very late consumer shopping,” said Jim Litwak, president of the company. The music category declined by 22% and represented 32% of revenue, compared to 33% of revenue last year. December comp sales were a negative 21% versus 25% in November. The top 50 items in music were down 19%, and although the performance was better than the year-to-date trend, top music was hurt by a series of release delays by big name artists such as U2, Dr. Dre, Eminem and 50 Cent. “The category performed well with releases from Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, Kanye West, Beyoncé and Nickelback, [but] the shift of other big acts clearly hurt the business,” Litwak said. Comp video sales declined 9% and represented 43% of the business versus 42% last year. Comp video sales were down 8% in December versus an 11% decline in November. The top 50 videos fell 17%. Although sales of The Dark Knight and Mamma Mia! were exceptionally strong, they could not cover the revenue generated last year by Spider-Man, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Superbad, The Bourne Ultimatum, The Simpsons Movie, Shrek, Live Free or Die Hard, Hairspray and High School Musical 2. “Strong sales of TV on DVD helped spur catalog DVD sales,” Litwak said. “Blu-ray sales improved significantly, although the overall business is still relatively small. We believe the format will grow substantially in 2009 as hardware penetration increases.” Electronics, accessories and trend sales declined 8% and represented 16% of revenue versus 15% last year. December comps fell 6% versus 13% in November. A better mix in music catalog, greater depth in DVD catalog and the emergence of Blu-ray are projected to improve results in video and other categories, according to Litwak. “While the economy will be a big factor in 2009, with strong value offerings as well as timely lifestyle promotions, we should be fine,” he said. The rosy projection brought the ire of one investor on the call, who lamented that other than the hundreds of thousands of dollars paid to executives (see story, page 4), investors had been given little to reward their ongoing patience for the sinking chain. I CDSA TAPS DYSON Linda Dyson, who’s been with Sony Music Entertainment International since 1989, will head the Content Delivery and Storage Association’s (CDSA) antipiracy and compliance program in the Americas. – Chris Tribbey I MILL CREEK MAKES CHANGES Distributor Mill Creek Entertainment has promoted Craig Frischman to SVP of sales, and Terry Lipelt to VP of business development. The company also hired Kathy Johnson as its new director of national accounts. Frischman previously served as VP and will manage all sales and business development activities. Lipelt, previously director of business development, will have primary responsibility for the development and penetration of new channels of business as well as strategic growth within Mill Creek’s current base of distribution partners. Johnson will be responsible for a number of key national accounts as well as the development of new accounts within a variety of non-traditional channels. Johnson has spent 20 years in the industry, previously with MTI and Sight and Sound. – John Latchem I DREAMWORKS’ WHITMAN RESIGNS A spokesman for Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay, told the Wall Street Journal Jan. 5 that she has stepped down from the board of DreamWorks Animation SKG, effective Dec. 31. The move stirs speculation that Whitman will consider running for governor of California in 2010. – Chris Tribbey CEO Gets Pay Cut Continued from page 4 Trans World pays Higgins’ $9,718 annual country club dues and $50,216 for a personal assistant. He earned $2.16 million in total compensation in 2007, compared to $2.8 million in 2006. Higgins, who last year attempted to take Trans World private with $5 per share cash offer, is the company’s largest shareholder with 12.8 million shares. The CEO receives $2 million in rent for the building housing Trans World’s corporate offices, which he owns. The company also pays Higgins $40,000 in rent for an f.y.e. store located in a separate building of his. Finally, Trans World pays $29,000 to charter a corporate jet owned by Higgins. Roku, Amazon Cut VOD Deal Continued from page 1 Titles include The Dark Knight, Hancock, Tropic Thunder and Pineapple Express — the latter the same day as the Jan. 6 Blu-ray Disc/DVD releases. Roku, through its deal with Netflix, includes access to about 12,000 free content streams in standard- and high-definition. The box connects wirelessly to any TV, or via HDMI, component video, S-Video, stereo or optical audio connection. The Amazon deal marks Roku’s effort to re-establish its device as the Roku Digital Video Player and not “Netflix’s player,” according to company spokesperson Amy Bonetti. “The Netflix player name is done,” Bonetti said. “It’s dead.” Anthony Wood, founder and CEO of Roku, concurred. “This [deal] makes the Roku player the ideal choice for watching Internet content directly on TV,” Wood said. Netflix spokesperson Steve Swasey said the online DVD rental pioneer welcomed the addition of Amazon VOD. “We think it is terrific,” Swasey said. “Anything that adds value to the player is going to sell more players, and that is good for Netflix. We are all about broadening the appeal of our [streaming distribution] partners.” B RIEFS I OBAMA, CONSUMERS UNION URGE DIGITAL TV DELAY ready for Obama by mid-February “contains resources to address this issue.” NTIA has spent all $1.34 billion Congress allocated it to spend on the $40 coupons, and Americans who are still using antennas to get their TV will now have to wait in line before they can get a coupon. The news means some consumers may have to shell out the full funds for a converter box, or see their TV stop accepting broadcasting Feb. 17. In December alone, the NTIA had requests for 7.2 million coupons, when the administration was only expecting requests for 4.3 million. Current redemption rate is about 50%, according to the NTIA, with 13 million coupons expired and 18 million redeemed, out of 44 million requested. On Jan. 7 the nonprofit Consumers Union also asked Congress to delay the digital transition. The Nielsen Co. reported that it believes just under 7% of all homes nationwide are unready for the digital transition. – Chris Tribbey CLASSIFIED SHOWCASE CO M P U T E R S O F T WA R E PA C K A G I N G 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 President-elect Barack Obama asked Congress Jan. 8 to delay the Feb. 17 digital TV transition, suggesting in a letter to lawmakers that the federal government is unprepared for the problems consumers may experience when analog signals are shut off. The letter, signed by John Podesta, co-chair of the Obama-Biden Presidential Transition Team, also pointed to the Jan. 5 announcement from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) that it had unexpectedly run out of money to subsidize consumers’ purchase of digital converter boxes. Calling the $1.34 billion Congress allocated to the NTIA “woefully inadequate,” the letter urges “a change to the legislatively-mandated analog cutoff date.” “Coupon demand appears headed to a level will exceed that authorized by Congress. In addition, the government’s programs to assist consumers through the upheaval of the conversion are inadequately funded,” the letter read, pointing to more than a million people on the waiting list for the $40 converter box coupons. The letter adds that an economic recovery plan Congress hopes to have I MLB TAPS MOTOROLA FOR HD MLB Network, the new 24-hour cable channel dedicated to Major League Baseball, has tapped Motorola’s digital compression technology to deliver the content in high-def. – Chris Tribbey Home Media Magazine January 12–18, 2009 http://www.homemediamagazine.com http://www.rapidrental.com http://www.homemediamagazine.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 Contents News Cine Mercado Reviews Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - (Page 1) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - (Page 2) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Contents (Page 3) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - News (Page 4) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - News (Page 5) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - News (Page 6) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - News (Page 7) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - News (Page 8) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - News (Page 9) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Cine Mercado (Page 10) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Cine Mercado (Page 11) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Reviews (Page 12) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Reviews (Page 13) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Reviews (Page 14) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Reviews (Page 15) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 16) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 17) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 18) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 19) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 20) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 21) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 22) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 23) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 24) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 25) Home Media Magazine - January 11, 2009 - Just Announced (Page 26)
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