Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 - (Page 1) DECEMBER 14–20, 2008 Home A R C H Media RESE MAR KET S HAR E 11% as of 12/7/08 I Blu-ray I DVD Consumers spent $240.59 million on DVDs for the week Blu-ray vs. DVD Sales* Consumers spent $23.64 million on Blu-ray Discs for the week Down 37.73% from the previous week. * Top 20 unit volume 89% Down 14.58% from the previous week. Source: Home Media Research BRINGING DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT TO YOU >> HIGH-DEF Study: BD Players Hot on Black Friday Revenue was $30.3 million in the week after Thanksgiving By Chris Tribbey lu-ray Disc enjoyed a remarkable week after Thanksgiving, selling 147,000 standalone players, for a total of $30.3 million in revenue, according to research firms The NPD Group and DisplaySearch. While different methodologies prevented the companies from offering specific year- Sony BDP-S350 over-year comparisons, a DisplaySearch representative called the numbers “very strong.” Comparing sales in the weeks leading up to Black Friday, Blu-ray players never reached more than 50,000 units sold in a week, according to the research. However, sales of DVD players were down nearly 25% compared to last year, with COULD SAVE THE DAY By Thomas K. Arnold PRODUCT Can Batman save the home entertainment industry? In a season of hit-or-miss theatrical blockbusters, where some of the misses have been by as much as 30% off target, Warner Home Video’s The Dark Knight landed squarely on the hit side, selling more than 3 million units its first day in stores, 600,000 of them on the high-definition Blu-ray Disc format. That sets the stage for the Batman sequel to become the top-selling home video release of the year, mimicking its performance on the big screen, where its domestic gross of $530.3 million stands unmatched by any other theatrical release of the past decade. See BATMAN, Page 18 ‘BATMAN’ B 457,000 units moved for $18.5 million in revenue. Upconverters represented about 20% of the total units sold, the companies said. “With the decline in DVD sales, a lot of pressure has been placed on Blu-ray,” said Paul Erickson, director of DVD and HD market research for DisplaySearch. “Purely on a standalone player basis, Blu-ray has been lower than DVD [during DVD’s second year], and it’s unlikely Blu-ray will ever catch it. “To be fair, DVD is the most successful consumer electronics hit of all time.” A combination of aggressive advertising and a significant drop in price helped push more Blu-ray players out of stores. With some players at $128, and Sony’s popular BDP-S350 hitting See BLACK FRIDAY, Page 6 CFO: BLOCKBUSTER ABLE TO WEATHER ECONOMIC STORM By Erik Gruenwedel NETFLIX: BLU-RAY ADOPTION ‘REMARKABLY STRONG’ By Erik Gruenwedel >> ELECTRONIC DELIVERY INSIDE >> Cable Biz Softening? Time Warner Cable CEO talks about the market. >> iPhones at Wal-Mart Hitting this month. PAGE 6 NPD: Digital Copy Owners Prefer Copy to Downloads By Erik Gruenwedel onsumers are embracing the concept of digital copies included with Blu-ray Disc and standard DVDs, according to a new survey of 1,500 U.S. Blockbuster said it has contingent plans in place to operate in the current uncertain economic climate and remain profitable through 2009. Speaking Dec. 10 at Wedbush Morgan Securities’ investor conference in Santa Monica, Calif., CFO Thomas Casey said the Dallas-based No. 1 DVD rental service remained focused on improving the net-rental rate on titles, in addition to maintaining gross profitability at the store level. See BLOCKBUSTER, Page 20 RETAIL Barry McCarthy, CFO of online DVD rental pioneer Netflix, told an investor group Dec. 9 that subscriber requests for Blu-ray Disc already had exceeded the company’s year-end goal of 500,000 members willing to pay an additional $1 per month for BD movies. The announcement comes as the Los Gatos, Calif.based service said it intends to amass 9 million See NETFLIX, Page 20 RETAIL Meagan Burrows to Leave Paramount By Chris Tribbey SUPPLIER Paramount Home Entertainment domestic president Meagan Burrows is leaving the company after 23 years, in the wake of Viacom’s companywide restructuring announced this month. Burrows was EVP of sales and market- C consumers who had purchased a DVD or Blu-ray Disc in the past year. Studios, in an effort to circumvent piracy, increasingly include See DIGITAL COPY, Page 6 ing before being named president of North American home entertainment in 2003. She was responsible for all domestic marketing, finance and planning for home entertainment product for the studio, as well as other Viacom-owned brands, such as BET, MTV, CBS See PARAMOUNT, Page 18 NEWS Redbox continues stocking its kiosks with discs from Universal Studios Home Entertainment, despite its suit against the studio. RESEARCH Disney’s The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian presided over the sales chart, while Universal’s Wanted was the top renter. PRODUCT Sony Pictures Home Entertainment bows a line of “Girls Night In” DVDs, plus its second wave of “Martini Movies.” Page 4 Page 12 Page 18
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 Contents News News Cine Mercado Reviews Research Top 20 DVD Sellers Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts Just Announced Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 (Page Cover1) Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 (Page Cover2) Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 (Page 1) Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 - Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 (Page 2) Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 - Contents (Page 3) Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 - News (Page 4) Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 - News (Page 5) Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 - News (Page 6) Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 - News (Page 7) Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 - Cine Mercado (Page 8) Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 - Cine Mercado (Page 9) Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 - Reviews (Page 10) Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 - Reviews (Page 11) Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 12) Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 - Top 20 DVD Sellers (Page 13) Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 14) Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 15) Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 16) Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 - Top 20 Rentals and Top 10 Charts (Page 17) Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 18) Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 19) Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 - Just Announced (Page 20) Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Cover3) Home Media Magazine - December 14-20, 2008 - Just Announced (Page Cover4)
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