James Delahunty
23 Jan 2006 9:35
Overall consumer spending on DVDs fell in 2005 despite the amount of discs sold being higher than it ever was. According to the report in the trade journal Screen Digest, average European DVD consumer prices fell by more than 11% in 2005 to just under €15. Price reductions put spending down by 1.7% even though more than 732 million discs were sold during the year. Paul Callaghan, Screen Digest analyst, said VHS tapes were likely to die out completely in Europe by 2008, leaving more room for DVD sales growth, although it would be slower than before.
The report, entitled European Video - Market Assessment and Forecast to 2009, found that 60% of Western European homes owned a DVD player or a DVD recorder but in Central and Eastern Europe, there is room for growth as just 12% of TV households have a DVD player. Overall, spending on DVD rentals are thought to have reached about €2.2bn. The report covered 22 countries in detail.
The report suggest that, despite growth in other parts of the continent, the majority of spending on DVDs occurred in the more affluent countries in Western Europe. Three quarters of DVD consumer spending took place in UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain, the continent's five largest video markets.
Source:
BBC News