Home Media Magazine - May 11-17, 2008 - (Page 1)

MAY 11± 17, 2008 Home A R C H Media RESE MAR KET S HAR E as of 5/4/08 I Blu-ray I DVD Consumers spent $101.25 million on DVDs the week ended May 4, 2008 Blu-ray vs. DVD Sales* Week Ended 5/4 5% Consumers spent $7.08 million on Blu-ray Discs the week ended May 4, 2008 95% Down 5.16% from the previous week. * Top 20 BD unit volume vs. Top 20 DVD unit volume Down 23.04% from the previous week. Source: Home Media Research >> HIGH-DEF BRINGING DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT TO YOU >> ELEC TRONIC DELIVERY Blu-ray Blues Studio chiefs see hardware supply, pricing problems DRM and peer-to-peer networks were top of mind at Digital Hollywood. Chernin: Player Iger: $300 Blu-ray Player Would Boost Scarcity Holds Back Home Entertainment Blu-ray Adoption By Erik Gruenwedel By Erik Gruenwedel SUPPLIER Calling household penetration of SUPPLIER News Corp. president and COO Blu-ray ªmo dest,º Walt Disney Co. chairman Peter Chernin said a dearth of Blu-ray playand CEO Bob Iger last week told ers at retail continues to hamper INSIDE analysts the media giant remains wider consumer adoption of the a ªb elieverº in the format and is I Viacom DVD next-generation format. revenue down, patient regarding its success. News Corp. is parent to 20th CenHe said industry home video rev- home entertain- tury Fox Home Entertainment. ment revenue enue would increase significantly In an analysts call, Chernin said if Blu-ray players retailed around up, see page 6. many retailers carry just one or two Control of Digital Content Topic of Hollywood Confab INSIDE >> Zune Has More Video Microsoft adds TV programming. >> Lycos Gets VOD Rentals and free video are offered. PAGE 12 By Chris Tribbey OLLYWOOD, Calif. Ð Two topics, digital rights management (DRM) and peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, dominated discussions during the spring Digital Hollywood event May 5-8 at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel. Both subjects go straight to the heart of content owners protecting their property, and from the sound of things, it' s a battle they' re losing. H Fritz Attaway, EVP of the Motion Picture Association of America, heard a lot of things from peer-topeer network operators such as BitTorrent, LimeWire and Vuze during the conference. He just didn't hear a lot that he liked. ª I didn' t hear a lot that helps convince consumers to move to the legal business model, instead of the theft-based business model,º he said. See DIGITAL, Page 32 $300. Sony's PlayStation 3 game Blu-ray players, which he said has system with a Blu-ray drive is the cheapest necessitated a manufacturing push for thirdplayer on the market at $399. generation players. Iger said the average retail price for a Blu-ray He expects the new players to reach the See DISNEY, Page 32 See FOX, Page 32 >> Criterion Goes Blu Criterion Collection plans Blu-ray Disc releases. INSIDE PAGE 10 >> Next Wave Coming Pioneer, Panasonic slate new Blu-ray players. >> BDLive.com Launches The site will aid BD Live feature developers. STUDIOS AWARDED $110M IN ILLEGAL DOWNLOAD SUIT By Erik Gruenwedel Music DVD Comeback By Erik Gruenwedel PRODUCT Music DVD is ready for an encore. Bucking incessant declines of music CD sales and conventional wisdom, shipments of music video DVDs increased 18.6% to 27.5 million units in 2007, generating nearly $485 million in revenue, according to year-end statistics released by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). By comparison, the trade group said 2006 music video DVD shipments topped 23 million units and $451 million, which represented 31.5% and 25% declines, respectively, from unit shipments and revenue in 2005. Music video downloads in 2007 increased 43% to 14.2 Actors, Producers Suspend Talks By Erik Gruenwedel he Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) last week halted month-old contract negotiations after the producers said they wanted to start talks with the union representing daytime actors. AMPTP began labor talks with American Federation of Television See SAG, Page 30 A federal judge in Los Angeles May 7 ordered shuttered file-sharing service TorrentSpy.com to pay movie studios $110 million in damages for the unauthorized online distribution of popular movies and television shows. The P2P site, until shut down in March by British-based parent Valence Media LLC, See ILLEGAL, Page 30 LEGAL T million units and $28.2 million in revenue, compared to 9.9 million units and $19.7 million in sales in 2006. ª It' s a pretty good market for music retailers,º said Geoff Mayfield, director of charts and senior analyst with Billboard. ª They' re smaller numbers [when compared] to album sales and digital tracks, but it is a See MUSIC, Page 30 NEWS Blockbuster is co-sponsoring an ª Indiana Jonesº race car in advance of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. PRODUCT Allumination Filmworks is releasing on DVD the 300 spoof 305, which began as a popular YouTube short. RESEARCH 27 Dresses looked lovely to consumers, who helped the Fox comedy take the top spot on both the DVD sales and rental charts. Page 6 Page 26 Page 28 http://BDLive.com http://TorrentSpy.com

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Home Media Magazine - May 11-17, 2008 Contents News News News News Commentary TV DVD Cine Mercado Reviews Pipeline Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced Christian Entertainment Review Contents Product Profile Talent Profile Retail Profile Reviews New Releases

Home Media Magazine - May 11-17, 2008

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