NY Times: DVDs, Hollywood’s Profit Source, Are Sagging

[marmar]

DVDs, Hollywood’s Profit Source, Are Sagging
By BROOKS BARNES

Published: November 20, 2008


LOS ANGELES — Conventional wisdom holds that Hollywood’s fortunes go up when the economy goes down. People still crave entertainment, particularly of the escapist variety, and movies remain within the budgets of most people.

That may prove true this time around, too — ticket sales have been particularly robust in recent weeks — but studio prosperity stopped depending on box-office results a long time ago. DVDs propel profits these days, and there is a creeping dread in the movie capital that buyer interest is plummeting as the global economic crisis worsens.

“Every studio is claiming, ‘We’re O.K. so far, but we’ve looked at the overall competitive sales data and we have some concerns,’ ” said Amir Malin, a partner at Qualia Capital, an investment firm whose assets include several large film libraries.

So far, total DVD sales are down by about 4 percent for the year, with most of that weakness coming in October, according to data compiled by Warner Brothers, the largest distributor of DVDs. The independent tracking service Nielsen VideoScan paints a bleaker picture, reporting a 9 percent drop in overall DVD sales during the third quarter alone and a 22 percent decline in sales of higher-priced new titles, although its data does not include results at Wal-Mart.

Most troubling, industrywide sales of next-generation Blu-ray discs — promoted as a high-definition technology that will restore growth to the medium — are growing but will miss sales projections for the year by 25 percent or more, according to Warner. ......(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/21/business/21dvd.html?_r=1&hp

[stopbush]

1. I hardly buy DVDs anymore. Just flicks the kids will watch more than once.

And Blu-ray? I don't have an HDTV and don't plan on buying one anytime soon. Feeding the kids and trying to save for college for them takes precedent over the newest, "better" TV format, a format that means nothing to those of us with diminishing eye sight and hearing.

[exboyfil]

2. I consider most Hollywood releases $1 specials

You can rent movies that were out less than six months ago for $1. I am not sure why anyone is going to the movies anymore. I average maybe 2 trips per year (ie special movies like Batman Returns)

I agree with you on BluRay. I have one old second hand TV in my house and a conventional DVD player. I have no plans of upgrading in the near future for two reasons (one the extra time spent watching HDTV and the cost). Better for the money to go into our kids' college fund like you said.