Hollywood was high on the same drug that the music industry has been hoarding for years, the joy of selling people the same product again. Just like the days when we all went from vinyl to 8 track tape to cassette and then to optical mode, the movie industry is just now getting hooked on this pleasure.
You see, we first watched the films in the theater, then we bought the tape and now we are buying the DVDs! So what's the problem? Well, everyone now has all the DVDs they needed to replace their VHS libraries and sales are dropping off! The only solution, arguably, is for Hollywood to start putting out a good product that will entice customers to go out and pick up the disc. According to this report at Seeking Alpha, 2007 could possibly see a first-ever decline in overall sales!
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Greenfield notes that household penetration of DVD players is now over 80%. He says 'wholesale pricing is going to come down on DVDs," the only questions being 'how fast and how much." Meanwhile, he notes that digital film distribution will enable 'the ultimate price competition," pressuring 'bricks-and-mortar" DVD retailers. He also notes that digital movie distribution will have to compete against free, pirated versions, as has been the case in the music industry. As for the next generation DVD players - the Blu-Ray and HD-DVD formats - Greenfield says they will not have a material impact on studio revenues and profits in 2007. 'It remains highly unclear which format will win (as both sides continue to make serious errors), not to mention that consumers without 50-inch or large HDTV [sets] are unlikely to appreciate the improvement in picture quality." |
Wow, that has to be one of the best quotes from anyone I have seenin some time. This guy really covers some ground in just a few statements. I love that last line too about hi definition! The education campaign across the Internet is working, and now it is becoming common knowledge, that you need a monster screen to take advantage of high definition! Not to mention, the war is a dangerous one to participate in at this point! I want one, (a 50+ inch screen) but I can't afford it! So I wait and watch DVD.
It's already so easy to get some super deals on movie DVDs too. Each weekend, many go on sale for less than ten dollars. Sometimes brand new albeit a tad older DVDs go for $5.99 at Best Buy or Circuit City (Circuit City has a limited selection of reg $9.99 -14.99 DVDs going for $4.99 this weekend 10/08/06) or even Wal-Mart. In addition, you can go to Blockbuster and pick up quality guaranteed pre-viewed discs, for as little as four for $20 dollars. This is just a dollar more a piece than renting! Maybe 2007 will be the year that the price wars really start giving us some movie bargains! Better yet, maybe we will see some better films coming from Hollywood and then special extra features added to the resulting disc versions. Long live DVD. Cheers!
Source: Seeking Alpha
