According to figures unveiled at CES by Digital Entertainment Group (DEG), in 2008 US DVD spending dropped yet again in 2008. The 5.5% decrease compared to 2007, which includes sales and rentals of both standard DVDs and Blu-ray discs, continues a trend which began in 2007 when spending fell over 3% from the year before.
As expected, one potentially bright spot was Blu-ray. To date nearly 10 million Blu-ray players have been sold, including PS3 game consoles. Blu-ray discs accounted for almost $750 million.
Although disc sales fell 19% to $14.5 billion, rental revenue remained flat at $7.5 billion. Although it's possible this trend will change as prices for Blu-ray discs approach what consumers are used to for standard DVDs, it may be that people simply don't have an interest in buying the same number of discs as in previous years.
Or it could be a combination of personal collections that are already established and increased competition from products like game consoles. Only time will tell which is a greater factor. Despite the on-going recession, Blu-ray is expected to continue gaining market share in 2009. Perhaps this will be the year we see whether this translates into increased disc sales.
Although disc sales fell 19% to $14.5 billion, rental revenue remained flat at $7.5 billion. Although it's possible this trend will change as prices for Blu-ray discs approach what consumers are used to for standard DVDs, it may be that people simply don't have an interest in buying the same number of discs as in previous years.
Or it could be a combination of personal collections that are already established and increased competition from products like game consoles. Only time will tell which is a greater factor. Despite the on-going recession, Blu-ray is expected to continue gaining market share in 2009. Perhaps this will be the year we see whether this translates into increased disc sales.
