Home Media Magazine - June 15, 2008 - (Page 1) JUNE 15–21, 2008 >> ELECTRO N IC DELIVERY INSIDE iHollywood: Speakers Discuss VOD’s Future By Chris Tribbey OLLYWOOD, Calif. — Michele Edelman, VP of marketing for Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, employs the “push, pull and poke” strategy to attract consumers in a crowded marketplace. “You got to push them, pull them in and hit ’em hard,” she said last week during a video-on-demand seminar at the iHollywood Forum. H BRINGING DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT TO YOU THE BIG PICTURE “Warner has, I think, the largest library out there. What we have to remember is that traditional marketing doesn’t work anymore. You’ve got to get smart.” Shorter attention spans, stingy spending habits and an “I want it now” mentality are all challenges. Price, available content and freedom to use that content are all issues that need to be addressed. See iHOLLYWOOD, Page 30 INSIDE >> Disney Flicks Online Films will stream on Disney.com. >> Netflix Asks For More Boxes More Roku-made set-top boxes are requested. PAGE 14 ENTERING A NEW >> HIGH-DEF Wal-Mart $100 Gift Card Boosts PS3 Sales By Erik Gruenwedel RETAIL Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s weeklong offering of a $100 gift card with the purchase of a Blu-ray player is paying dividends for Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 3 game console with a BD drive. Wal-Mart stores contacted in Southern California reported selling out of daily allotments of the $399 PS3, while sales of standalone BD players, including Magnavox’s $298 player, didn’t get much of a boost. See WAL-MART, Page 32 INSIDE >> BD Live Awakens Disney shows off Sleeping Beauty. >> Replicator Touts BD Singulus says it’s adopting faster than DVD. PAGE 12 SOME EXPECT 3-D TO CATCH ON IN THE HOME By Chris Tribbey he epiphany for launching the 3D@Home Consortium came to co-founder and managing director Chris Chinnock last year. But the affirmation came in April during a trip to Japan. Over-the-air 3-D content is being broadcast there, but only for short-form programming. Also, 3-D TVs and accompanying 3-D glasses are given front billing in electronics stores, but the quality is poor and the set-up is clumsy, said Chinnock, president of Insight Media. “I put on the glasses, and it’s just not a very compelling image,” he said, adding that the set-up was not consumer friendly. “That’s a major problem: you’ve got to make it idiot-proof.” PS3 BEATS XBOX 360 IN MAY MONTHLY SALES By Stephanie Prange T Making things easier and enticing for consumers, and for companies interested in capitalizing on the resurgence of theatrical 3-D are what the group is about. The Consortium has attracted the likes of Philips, Samsung, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, NBC Universal, Imax, Thomson and a host of 3-D-specific groups. “The reason you’re seeing a lot of heavy hitters is because they’re seeing the same things,” Chinnock said. “Hollywood’s committed, the sports people are interested, and the gaming industry gets it.” The Consortium’s mission is to speed up the delivery of 3-D into homes. High priority discussion items for the group See 3-D, Page 32 For only the second time since launch, Sony’s PlayStation 3 has beaten Microsoft’s Xbox 360 in monthly sales, according to data from The NPD Group. Nintendo’s Wii, as usual, was the runaway winner for the month. See PS3, Page 32 GAMES Flags of Our Fathers is among the BD titles Wal-Mart is offering for $15. Home A R C H Media RESE MAR KET S HAR E 9% as of 6/8/08 I Blu-ray I DVD Consumers spent $123.74 million on DVDs for the week Blu-ray vs. DVD Sales* Consumers spent $10.02 million on Blu-ray Discs for the week Down 4.35% from the previous week. * Top 20 unit volume 91% Down 0.26% from the previous week. Source: Home Media Research NEWS Warner Bros. Studios will release half the theatrical films, compared to what it currently releases, by 2009. RESEARCH New Line scores a slam dunk with Semi-Pro. The Will Ferrell comedy landed at No. 1 on the DVD sales and rental charts. PRODUCT Sony Pictures gets all dressed up for Prom Night. The horror remake streets on DVD and Blu-ray Disc Aug. 19. Page 6 Page 26 Page 30 http://Disney.com
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