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Retailers rally 'round Blu
May 15, 2008
The studios are going to have Wal-Mart and Best Buy to thank for the success of
Blu-ray.
First, the two largest home entertainment retailers ended the format war by throwing their considerable marketing and merchandising support behind the Blu-ray format, essentially denying HD DVD little or any presence on the battlefield.
Now the same two are bringing the lowest-priced BD players yet to market.
Blu-ray has languished a bit since its competitor’s demise, with set-top manufacturers struggling to get enough products into stores and cash-strapped consumers hesitant to replace their DVD players with the pricey new format.
A Harris Interactive poll released last week showed that, while 70% of consumers are aware of Blu-ray, just 9% said they expect to buy their first player in the next year. (About 10% of HDTV owners said they already own BD players, with more than half of those owning Sony’s PlayStation 3.)
Harris—like NPD Group, which has found similar purchase intent—pointed primarily to the cost of Blu-ray set-top players. There is a greater perceived value among consumers for PS3, which at $399 has been the least expensive BD player on the market and the most advanced technologically, given its ability to play BD Live features with a firmware upgrade.
The big C.E. brands for the most part are not addressing the price issue, with both Panasonic and Pioneer planning to bring their newer generation players to market at a higher price than their existing offerings, at $599 and up.
So here come Wal-Mart and Best Buy to bring lesser brands to market at lower prices, just as they did with standard DVD players years ago.
As Susanne Ault reports on page 2, Wal-Mart within the week will begin selling Funai’s Magnavox-branded BD set-top for $298, and Best Buy soon will sell the same player under its house Insignia brand for $348.
These retailers want to hook consumers on Blu-ray just as much as the studios do. After all, they need the hardware sales, and they will share amply in the wealth if consumers can be convinced to replace their favorite movies with new and improved versions.
Posted by Marcy Magiera on May 15, 2008 | Comments (1)