Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - (Page 28) NEWS Netflix Ups Sub Rates for BD Continued from page 1 www.homemediamagazine.com to the economic climate.” Analysts remained only mildly concerned, characterizing Netflix as an entertainment antidote to cashstrapped consumers. J.P. Morgan analyst Barton Crockett, in a research note, called the news an “incremental negative for the bull-case on Netflix shares.” Stacey Widlitz, media analyst with Pali Research, said consumer cutbacks were unsurprisingly affecting Netflix, which she said continued to meet its financial goals by cutting back on subscriber acquisition costs (SAC). “So long as Blockbuster continues to focus its resources on its store base and not its online program, [home video rentals] should be the company’s primary lever,” Widlitz said in a note. Netflix reports third-quarter results Oct. 20. Warner Testing VOD Strategy Continued from page 1 higher wholesale cost. Woo said Netflix thus far has not charged for its streaming service, whose costs (read: postage) and market penetration he said are lower than DVD by mail. “My guess is that when it becomes widely developed, you may see a price increase for streaming,” Woo said. Netflix separately revised downward subscriber growth estimates for the fourth quarter after thirdquarter (ended Sept. 30) results fell below expectations. It marked the first downturn for the DVD-by-mail service, which analysts consider a less expensive entertainment alternative to theatrical movies and thereby nearly immune to shortfalls in the economy. The economic morass has seen shares of many media companies fall as much as 10%. Netflix said it closed Q3 with 8.672 million subscribers, down slightly from guidance of 8.675 million to 8.875 million. It said total subscriber estimates for Q4 would range from 8.95 million to 9.25 million, compared to previous estimates from 9.1 million to 9.7 million. Fourth-quarter revenue guidance declined by $4 million to $8 million, to $353 million to $359 million, compared to previous estimates from $357 million to $367 million. “Net subscriber growth in July was in line with expectations, but August was unusually weak,” CFO Barry McCarthy said in a statement. “In September the business regained momentum with results slightly below original expectations, likely due penetration in Korea exceeds 94%. “Korea is the ideal market for us to expand our digital distribution strategy,” said Thomas Gewecke, president of Warner Bros. Digital Distribution. The studio has made digital delivery a cornerstone of its distribution strategy following the appointment of Kevin Tsujihara as president of Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group in 2005. He has been key to Warner and other studios testing same-day U.S. releases of movies on cable-VOD and DVD. MultiMedia Intelligence, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based market research firm, said Warner’s strategic “experiment” makes sense because it considers online distribution more secure than DVD. “The CSS digital rights management (DRM) technology that protects consumer DVD is already compromised,” said Mark Kirstein, president of MultiMedia. “For professional pirates, there might as well be no DRM at all.” Multimedia said advances such as digital transactional (also known as forensic or serialized) watermarking allow for easier tracking of digital media (compared to disc watermarking) because it can be refreshed if compromised by a third-party. If copyrighted content is illegally distributed, the watermark enables the infringing content to be tracked to the source for prosecution. Independent analyst Rob Enderle said Warner’s move allows it to root out bugs in the system in a contained region before wider dissemination. “If people are willing to pay a premium for the content and it doesn’t increase piracy, then they will likely roll something like this worldwide,” Enderle said. HD-3 Confab Continued from page 1 L ATE FL ASHES I ANCHOR BAY DEBUTS THEATRICAL UNIT Anchor Bay Entertainment will start producing its own films under Anchor Bay Films, aiming for eight to 10 new theatrical releases a year, Anchor Bay Entertainment CEO Chris McGurk said. Anchor Bay Entertainment president Bill Clark will lead the new division, which he said should be running by year’s and will have a dedicated executive team. — Chris Tribbey Pictures, producer of urban comedies, dramas and related independent fare. The first release under the new deal comes Oct. 21 with The Game: Life After the Math. Warner Home Video previously distributed Polychrome, which produces 10 to 12 DVDs annually. — Erik Gruenwedel in 2007. Consumer electronics manufacturers continue to underscore the surge in BD player sales, with most model prices hovering below $300. — Erik Gruenwedel DreamWorks Continued from page 1 panel will highlight the consumer response to Blu-ray Disc. The show also may bear previews of studio announcements to be made at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, held Jan. 8-11, 2009. Other highlights include exclusive market research on software, hardware and consumer trends, as well as the High-Def Disc Awards. HD-3 is produced by Home Media Magazine in cooperation with The Hollywood Reporter. Press registration is available to credentialed media and qualified consumers by contacting Kristina Kronenberg at kkronenberg@questex.com. I BDA SAYS BD DOING WELL Speaking with the Consumer Electronics Association, Victor Matsuda, chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association, said sales of Blu-ray Discs are four times as high compared to this time last year, thanks to the demise of HD DVD. “We have good reason to predict that this Q4 sales period will see the Blu-ray Disc revolution take hold in U.S. mainstream markets,” he said. — Chris Tribbey I REPORT: BD PLAYER UNIT SALES TO TOP 40M BY 2012 Unit sales of standalone Blu-ray players globally are projected to top 40 million by 2012, according to a report from Parks Associates. The research firm said sales of standalone Blu-ray players will reach 5 million units this year versus 800,000 units I VIVENDI SIGNS POLYCHROME Vivendi Entertainment inked a DVD, video-on-demand, Internet and mobile content distribution deal with Polychrome pleased to be able to continue to work with him and his team, with whom we have shared many successes,” DreamWorks co-founder Steven Spielberg said. “We have enjoyed a productive creative and business collaboration with Brad, Paramount and Viacom over the past few years and are enthusiastic about extending the relationship for many years to come. And I have a very special thanks to David Geffen for his far-reaching vision that has made it possible for me to steer this new course. His advice and wisdom have always been right on the money. He is a friend for life.” Court Stops RealDVD Software Sales Continued from page 1 San Francisco extended through the end of the month an order that prohibits online sales of the $29.99 software that lets users create a digital file of a DVD for their PC. RealNetworks reportedly sold about 3,000 (now non-functioning) editions of the software prior to the injunction. Patel Oct. 7 met with lawyers representing both parties, but wants to hear testimony from experts about how content encryption and RealDVD work, according to courtroom observer Fred von Lohmann, senior intellectual property attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “She wanted to hear from the experts to really understand how the technology works before she made a preliminary ruling,” he said. Von Lohmann said RealNetworks argued the Warner Votes for Charlie Brown injunction would hurt the company financially as it had projected 50% of the software’s revenue during the holidays. He said Patel countered that RealNetworks knew it would face opposition from the studios and could have filed legal proceedings months ago. The Motion Picture Association of America, which is representing the studios, applauded Patel for extending the injunction. RealNetworks, on its site, said legal action taken by the Hollywood movie studios against it had made RealDVD unavailable indefinitely, but it will continue to work diligently to provide software that allows users to make legal copies of DVDs for personal use. RealNetworks Sept. 30 filed a preemptive federal lawsuit against the major studios and the DVD Copy Control Association (CCA) seeking court approval for software. The studios, in turn, filed a countersuit seeking a temporary injunction. The studios say that despite a CCA license, RealDVD’s Content Scrambling System digital rights management can’t differentiate a storebought DVD from a rental, thereby opening the door to the practice “rent, rip and return.” But RealNetworks said its software has encryption safeguards to prevent copying of rental DVDs. “As a company with a nearly 15-year track record of innovation that’s both great for consumers and fully respectful of intellectual property, we’re disappointed that the movie studios thought they had to file lawsuits,” CEO Rob Glaser wrote on a company blog prior to a court-ordered gag rule. (L-R): Phil McKenna, VP of worldwide nontheatrical creative advertising for Warner Home Video; Charlie Brown; and Peter Robbins, the voice of Charlie Brown, at Warner’s mock presidential election event in Hollywood held to celebrate the Oct. 7 DVD release of the deluxe edition of You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown. Photo by: Alberto Rodriguez, WireImage HOME MEDIA MAGAZINE (ISSN 1934-9882) is published weekly 51 times per year (weekly except for one week at the end of December) by Questex Media Group, Inc., 306 West Michigan Street, Suite 200, Duluth, MN 55802. Subscription rates: $49.99 for one year in the United States and Possessions; $79.99 for one year in Canada and Mexico; all other countries $99.99 for one year (by surface mail). Add $75 annually for air-expedited service. Single copies (prepaid only): $6.99 in the United States, $8.99 in Canada and Mexico, $13.99 all other countries. Back issues, if available: $9.99 in the U.S.; $15.99 in Ca http://www.homemediamagazine.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 Contents News TV DVD Cine Mercado Reviews Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 (Page Cover1) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 (Page Cover2) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 (Page 1) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 (Page 2) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 (Page 3) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 (Page 4) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - Contents (Page 5) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - Contents (Page 6) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - Contents (Page 7) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - News (Page 8) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - News (Page 9) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - News (Page 10) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - News (Page 11) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - TV DVD (Page 12) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - TV DVD (Page 13) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - TV DVD (Page 14) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - TV DVD (Page 15) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - Cine Mercado (Page 16) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - Cine Mercado (Page 17) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - Cine Mercado (Page 18) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - Cine Mercado (Page 19) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - Reviews (Page 20) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - Reviews (Page 21) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - Reviews (Page 22) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - Reviews (Page 23) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 24) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 25) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 26) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 27) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 28) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Cover3) Home Media Magazine - October 12-18, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Cover4)
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.