• On TechRepublic: Why VISTA HATERS will love Windows 7
September 16, 2008 11:34 AM PDT

DVD sales flat, but still dwarf downloads

by Greg Sandoval

UPDATE:To include quotes from NPD Group analyst Russ Crupnick

DVD sales are flat but the drop doesn't have anything to do with movie downloads, according to the NPD Group.

The research group reported Tuesday that, on average, consumers spent 41 percent of the money budgeted for movies and other video content by purchasing DVDs of films. Movie rentals on DVD were the next biggest category with 29 percent. Consumers spent 11 percent purchasing TV shows on DVD. About 18 percent went to theater tickets, according to the report.

Here's the kicker for Internet video: only 0.5 percent was spent on renting or purchasing TV shows or movies off the Web.

This shouldn't surprise anybody. Digital video is still in its infancy. Narrow bandwidth in the United States, compared with much of the industrialized world, makes it time-consuming to download the enormous movie files.

Technology that compresses those files have improved but the quality and viewing experience is still far inferior to watching a DVD. Hollywood still doesn't allow digital downloads the same kind of portability as DVDs. A consumer can buy a movie on iTunes that may not play on a non-Apple device.

Then there is the problem with choice. Most of the services still have only a fraction of the films available as any corner video store.

Stats like those from NPD Group, while they may be accurate, don't tell the whole story. Hollywood believes digital media is the future as evidenced by the deals made with Microsoft's Xbox, iTunes, Roku's Netflix Player, and others. Let's see how much market share downloads account for in the next couple of years.

"Main street continues to line up behind Blockbuster and Best Buy," said Russ Crupnick, NPD's industry analyst. "I think the studios are smart to try different things and learn what they can. Eventually, we're going to see downloads start to get traction. But from a consumer point of view, there's just not any stickiness now."

Greg Sandoval covers media and digital entertainment for CNET News. He is a former reporter for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times. E-mail Greg, or follow him on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sandoCNET.
Recent posts from Digital Media
Seattle fire knocks out service to Bing Travel, other sites
DOJ opens formal investigation into Google Books settlement
Ad industry groups agree to privacy guidelines
Microsoft chucks vomit ad
Jammie Thomas will appeal, lawyer says
Usenet.com ruling, a 'whittling down' of Betamax defense
Microsoft resorts to vomit to market IE 8
RIAA triumphs in Usenet copyright case
Add a Comment (Log in or register)
by QMT September 16, 2008 12:41 PM PDT
Let's look at what I can do with a DVD:

I can play it a Sony player, a Toshiba player, an Xbox 360, one of those portable players, and even in a $20 Apex from the Wal-Mart.

I can take it to friend's house, and watch it there, on his DVD player.

I can even leave the disc with said friend, and merely watch a different movie in any of the above-mentioned players.

If I try hard enough, I can shop around various brick-and-mortar stores and several websites for the lowest price.

Were I entrepreneurially inclined, I could purchase several DVDs of various titles, and open a rental shop.

When I get tired of the DVD, I can sell it, ad recoup some money.

If someone else is bored with another DVD, I can buy it used on the cheap.


How many of these things can be done just as easily with a download, if at all?
Reply to this comment
by HighwayHome September 16, 2008 3:14 PM PDT
Copy protection issues aside, why can't you burn a downloaded file to a blank DVD and do all those same things mentioned? Download speeds are too slow at the present time for downloads to be practical. Once the speeds increase substantially, then there will be no use for the professionally created DVD, other than being a collector's item.
Reply to this comment
advertisement

Making sense of Windows 7 upgrades

faq The basics and the fine print on Microsoft's options for those eyeing the next operating system from Redmond.
• Full Windows 7 coverage

Road Trip 2009: Big Sky Country

CNET News reporter Daniel Terdiman takes his car full of gadgets to the Rockies and the Great Plains in search of tech, science, nature, and more.
• America's Fortress: Cheyenne Mountain

About Digital Media

The Web is now the place to go for news and entertainment. Look here for the latest on blogs, music, video, virtual worlds, social networking and more.

Add this feed to your online news reader

Digital Media topics

advertisement
advertisement

Inside CNET News

Scroll Left Scroll Right