Due out September 1, the "Gladiator" Blu-ray should do big numbers.
Back in April, we reported that sales for Blu-ray Discs had nearly doubled in the first quarter compared with the year before, according to Adams Media Research. Now the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) has issued a press release saying that U.S. Blu-ray sales are up 91 percent in the first half of 2009, which indicates that the format is maintaining its growth pace despite the recession.
Blu-ray and digital downloads were a bright spot in the DEG's report. Overall, consumer spending for prerecorded entertainment was down 3.9 percent compared with the same period last year, with net profit down 2.2 percent. However, the DEG noted that spending was up in the second quarter and that higher margin products like Blu-ray and digital downloads had a favorable impact on the bottom line.
"Although consumer spending on sellthrough packaged media was down 13.5 percent in the first half of 2009," the release says, "this was partially offset by the growth of Blu-ray (up 91 percent to $407 million) and digital distribution (up 21 percent to $968 million, which includes $196 million for electronic sellthough)." Additionally, rental spending was up 8.3 percent for the first half of 2009, "boosted by an increase in Blu-ray rental spending, which was up 62 percent."
Comments? If you own a Blu-ray player, what's your ratio on renting vs. buying? And, Blu-ray detractors, do you think digital downloads will make Blu-ray a niche product sooner rather than later?
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy is one of the big Blu-ray releases slated for later this year.
Blu-ray detractors and backers, here's the latest status report on the format:
According to Adams Media Research, about 9 million Blu-ray discs sold in the U.S. from January through March--up from 4.8 million units sold in the first quarter of last year.
As Bill Hunt over at The Digital Bits says, those numbers are particularly good considering the ongoing recession and the relatively weak title slate early in the year. He adds that the overall rollout for the format is slightly behind DVD "due to the recession," but ahead of VHS.
Adams is also reporting that there are 10.5 million Blu-ray "households." That figure includes both standalone Blu-ray players and Blu-ray-enabled PlayStation 3s.
Here's what I think: With cheaper Blu-ray players on the way and a better slate of Blu-ray discs on tap for later this year, the format's future appears relatively bright. But detractors will surely point to the high price of Blu-ray discs, as well as improvements in digital downloads and streaming services as continued stumbling blocks.
Comments? Is Blu-ray in good shape or doomed to fail?
(Source: Video Business via The Digital Bits)
(Credit:
AVSForum.com)
I just noticed a New York Times blog post about the sales trends of DVD and Blu-ray discs. While numbers for DVD and Blu-ray weren't broken out, overall sales for discs were down big in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Here's the key quote from the article:
In last year's fourth quarter, usually a big one for DVD sales...the studios' revenue from sell-through of conventional DVDs and Blu-ray discs fell 23.4 percent, to $2.6 billion from $3.4 billion. This drop of $800 million, Adams Research figures, shaved fully $500 million from the studios' operating profit because they have normally had a very high, 60 percent profit margin on sell-through revenue.
None of this is all that surprising, of course. First of all, the economy sucks, so people are trying to save more. Second, consumers are gradually transitioning from DVD to Blu-ray--or at least considering it--so there's less incentive to continue building that DVD collection. Put it all together, and you have people doing the smart thing: renting, not buying.
Unfortunately for studios, the trend toward renting vs. buying DVD and Blu-ray discs is probably only going to get more pronounced in the coming months--and maybe even years--especially when you consider the high cost of Blu-ray Discs.
As always, feel free to comment about your own personal situation.
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