The top news and charts for week ending March 24, 2008.
Distributors spread to alternative retailers Screen Digest: MOD will grow to $1.1 billion business Executives discuss initiatives at Green Media Summit |
NAVD Award At the 25th annual National Assn. of Video Distributors conference, NAVD’s Bill Burton (l.) celebrates with Disney’s Paul Pasquarelli, who was honored with the Larry Hilford Award, which recognizes a supplier executive who has been unusually supportive of distributors. Click for more industry photos. |
"NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN" leads Top DVD Renters Chart "BEE MOVIE" leads Top DVD Sellers Chart "AMERICAN GANGSTER" leads Top HD DVD Sellers Chart "NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN" leads Top Blu-ray Sellers Chart |
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SWEETING: Right(s) law |
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RED STATE, BLUE STATE: BD+ cracked? |
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DISC DISH: Ready for a fight |
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DVDIALOG: Paul Scofield, 1922-2008 |
Distributors spread to alternative retailers
MARCH 21 | With space at a premium in traditional retail stores, distributors are installing new DVD shelves in such unlikely niche accounts as Aéropostale, Harley-Davidson, Princess Cruises and Capezio. Apparel retailers Aéropostale and Capezio, travel specialist Princess Cruises and legendary motorcycle retailer Harley-Davidson don’t carry more than a handful of titles.
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No Country Blu-ray sales on the rise
MARCH 21 | Oscar Best Picture winner No Country for Old Men also is a winner on Blu-ray Disc. Retailers report that the Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment March 11 release is generating 10% to 15% of its sales on Blu-ray, which is higher than the average 5% to 10% on major day-and-date DVD/BD new release.
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Executives discuss initiatives at Green Media Summit
MARCH 21 | GREEN REPORT: When executives come together for the industry’s first Green Media Summit in Los Angeles on April 2, the talk won’t be as much about what they’ve done to green their operations as to why increased environmental responsibility is best for their business.
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Study: Supplier/retailer data flow problems causing lost sales
MARCH 21 | The Digital Entertainment Group and consultants Capgemini and Teradata finished the initial phase of an industry-first supply chain study analyzing merchandising execution at what’s known as the “the last 100 feet” of retail, from the stockroom to the store floor. What they found was significant room for improvement in data synchronization between suppliers and retailers.
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Barnes & Noble Q4 earnings beat analyst estimates
MARCH 20 | Barnes & Noble said fiscal fourth-quarter earnings beat analyst estimates as more online sales overcame lower margins from holiday discounts. DVD sales was highlighted as a strong segment for the retailer.
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Blockbuster promotes Mist with online game
MARCH 20 | Blockbuster this week began giving away an online computer-game version of Stephen King’s The Mist in an effort to promote the Weinstein Co. film, which will be released on DVD.
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Borders hires bankers for possible sale
MARCH 20 | Borders Group said that it hired investment bankers to explore a possible sale of the company. Borders also said its fiscal fourth-quarter profit lagged analyst expectations on lower gross margins from holiday discounts.
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Genius signs with digital distribution partners
MARCH 19 | Genius Products Inc. has signed non-exclusive digital distribution agreements with CinemaNow, Netflix and Vudu. The pact covers select titles from The Weinstein Co. and non-TWC titles. Exact content was not specified.
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Best Buy rewards HD DVD buyers
MARCH 19 | Best Buy is helping make some winners out of those who bought into the losing HD DVD format. The retailer will send $50 gift cards to customers who bought an HD DVD hardware device anytime before Feb. 23 of this year at Best Buy.
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Japanese stores go for Blu-ray
MARCH 18 | FROM VARIETY: Music and pic rental majors Tsutaya and Geo will start stocking Blu-ray discs in their stores in Japan.
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Screen Digest: MOD will grow to $1.1 billion business
MARCH 18 | Consumers will spend $1.1 billion by 2012 buying DVDs manufactured on demand in stores and online in the U.S. and Europe, according to a new report to be released from research firm Screen Digest.
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Target has Eebee Adventures DVD exclusive
MARCH 18 | A new baby DVD that encourages play and has been called the “un-Baby Einstein” is set to debut exclusively in Target stores nationwide beginning Monday. The exclusive DVD, Eebee’s Adventures: Developmental Play for You and Baby, was developed by the Every Baby Co. and Compass Productions.
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Movie Gallery slips back into red
MARCH 18 | Movie Gallery reported a net loss of $469,000 for the month ended Feb. 10, according to a mandatory filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond. The company also reported it settled a patent infringement case regarding the now-defunct MovieBeam set-top system.
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GameStop says Q1 earnings will beat estimates
MARCH 18 | GameStop said its fiscal first-quarter profit will beat analyst expectations as same-store sales continue to surge on demand for videogames from such publishers as Nintendo and Take Two Interactive. Fiscal fourth-quarter earnings beat the high end of its estimate from last month on lower taxes overseas.
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Aéropostale hosts Greek promotion
MARCH 18 | Apparel retailer Aéropostale is lending a hand to promote Walt Disney Home Entertainment March 18 release Greek: Season One Chapter One. Between the street date and March 30, Aéropostale’s in-store and online customers can purchase the title, and with any $50 purchase receive a free, limited-edition Rush Aero Greek T-shirt. Greek, a new ABC Family series, follows fraternity and sorority life.
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Home Theatre Forum makes repeat appearance at Expo
MARCH 17 | Online DVD fan site The Home Theater Forum is expanding its industry influence as it returns to the Entertainment Merchants Assn. convention this year and launches a studio meet-and-greet in Hollywood.
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No Country Blu-ray sales on the rise
MARCH 21 | Oscar Best Picture winner No Country for Old Men also is a winner on Blu-ray Disc. Retailers report that the Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment March 11 release is generating 10% to 15% of its sales on Blu-ray, which is higher than the average 5% to 10% on major day-and-date DVD/BD new release.
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Executives discuss initiatives at Green Media Summit
MARCH 21 | GREEN REPORT: When executives come together for the industry’s first Green Media Summit in Los Angeles on April 2, the talk won’t be as much about what they’ve done to green their operations as to why increased environmental responsibility is best for their business.
Click for Full Story
Study: Supplier/retailer data flow problems causing lost sales
MARCH 21 | The Digital Entertainment Group and consultants Capgemini and Teradata finished the initial phase of an industry-first supply chain study analyzing merchandising execution at what’s known as the “the last 100 feet” of retail, from the stockroom to the store floor. What they found was significant room for improvement in data synchronization between suppliers and retailers.
Click for Full Story
Emmerich named COO of New Line
MARCH 21 | FROM VARIETY: New Line production topper Toby Emmerich has been officially anointed president and chief operating officer of the scaled-down mini-major.
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Warner Premiere set to release Clique
MARCH 20 | Warner Premiere has wrapped production on the first title of its made-for-DVD series The Clique. The company, a division of Warner Home Video, should be streeting the title by fourth quarter.
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Genius signs with digital distribution partners
MARCH 19 | Genius Products Inc. has signed non-exclusive digital distribution agreements with CinemaNow, Netflix and Vudu. The pact covers select titles from The Weinstein Co. and non-TWC titles. Exact content was not specified.
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First Look, Shorewood plant trees to offset DVD manufacturing
MARCH 19 | GREEN REPORT: First Look Studios management showed their green thumbs on March 15, helping restore Malibu Creek State Park habitat as part of the indie DVD supplier’s ongoing environmental packaging initiative.
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Antigua threatens to allow piracy
MARCH 19 | FROM VARIETY: The government of Antigua is likely to abrogate intellectual property treaties with the U.S. by the end of March and authorize wholesale copying of American movies, music and other "soft targets" if the Bush administration fails to respond to proposals for settling a trade dispute between the two counties, according to the lawyer representing the Caribbean island nation.
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Gary Jones named president of Porchlight Home Entertainment
MARCH 18 | Porchlight Entertainment, a worldwide producer and distributor of family programming, has promoted Gary Jones to president of its home entertainment division.
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Discovery sets new home video VP position
MARCH 17 | Dan Hamby has been named VP of home video at Discovery Commerce, the e-commerce and consumer products division of Discovery Communications.
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Genius revenue up, but catalog DVD sales slowed in Q4
MARCH 17 | Blaming some weakening in its DVD sales, Genius Products LLC posted lower than expected earnings in its 2007 fourth quarter and full year.
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Horton hears a first-place finish
MARCH 17 | VARIETY BOX OFFICE REPORT: Twentieth Century Fox’s Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who! rang up a who-latious $45.1 million at the domestic box office—the biggest opening so far in 2008—furthering Fox’s successful foray into the animated and family market.
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No Country Blu-ray sales on the rise
MARCH 21 | Oscar Best Picture winner No Country for Old Men also is a winner on Blu-ray Disc. Retailers report that the Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment March 11 release is generating 10% to 15% of its sales on Blu-ray, which is higher than the average 5% to 10% on major day-and-date DVD/BD new release.
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PlayStation 3 gets BD-Live upgrade this month
MARCH 20 | After a long wait, PlayStation 3 will be able to playback Web-enabled BD-Live software this month. This upgrade, coming in late March through a firmware update, will turn PS3 into the industry’s first Profile 2.0 Blu-ray Disc player, which represents the most advanced capabilities for hardware in the format. Profile 2.0 players can download programming from the Web through their Ethernet port connections.
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Best Buy rewards HD DVD buyers
MARCH 19 | Best Buy is helping make some winners out of those who bought into the losing HD DVD format. The retailer will send $50 gift cards to customers who bought an HD DVD hardware device anytime before Feb. 23 of this year at Best Buy.
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Toshiba forecasts $665.5M HD DVD loss
MARCH 19 | FROM TWICE: Toshiba is forecasting a $665.5 million operating loss in HD DVD business for fiscal year 2007, which will end March 31.
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Japanese stores go for Blu-ray
MARCH 18 | FROM VARIETY: Music and pic rental majors Tsutaya and Geo will start stocking Blu-ray discs in their stores in Japan.
Click for Full Story
Blockbuster promotes Mist with online game
MARCH 20 | Blockbuster this week began giving away an online computer-game version of Stephen King’s The Mist in an effort to promote the Weinstein Co. film, which will be released on DVD.
Click for Full Story
PlayStation 3 gets BD-Live upgrade this month
MARCH 20 | After a long wait, PlayStation 3 will be able to playback Web-enabled BD-Live software this month. This upgrade, coming in late March through a firmware update, will turn PS3 into the industry’s first Profile 2.0 Blu-ray Disc player, which represents the most advanced capabilities for hardware in the format. Profile 2.0 players can download programming from the Web through their Ethernet port connections.
Click for Full Story
GameStop says Q1 earnings will beat estimates
MARCH 18 | GameStop said its fiscal first-quarter profit will beat analyst expectations as same-store sales continue to surge on demand for videogames from such publishers as Nintendo and Take Two Interactive. Fiscal fourth-quarter earnings beat the high end of its estimate from last month on lower taxes overseas.
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TiVo plans more Web video deals
MARCH 20 | TiVo is likely to sign more agreements this year that would allow digital video recorder customers to download content from video Web sites to their TVs, after the company struck a deal with Google’s YouTube and released its Web-video software.
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Genius signs with digital distribution partners
MARCH 19 | Genius Products Inc. has signed non-exclusive digital distribution agreements with CinemaNow, Netflix and Vudu. The pact covers select titles from The Weinstein Co. and non-TWC titles. Exact content was not specified.
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Users: I want my Web TV
MARCH 19 | FROM MULTICHANNEL NEWS: Even if it’s been years in coming, video on the Web seems to have become an overnight media sensation.
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TiVo launches Web video application
MARCH 18 | FROM TWICE: TiVo said that its DVR subscribers will be able to watch video content from the Web directly on their television sets.
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TV, movie downloads rarely watched on big display
MARCH 17 | More than one in four adults who regularly acquire content from the Internet download TV shows, while 15% download full-length movies, said digital rights management product maker Macrovision, citing a Harris Interactive poll. Very few of these movies and TV shows downloaded by consumers ever make it to the TV for display, however, according to the survey.
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Fox News Channel hits Hulu
MARCH 17 | FROM BROADCASTING & CABLE: After a conspicuous absence during beta-testing and on launch day, programming from Fox News Channel is finally hitting Hulu.
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Sony launches Web video service
MARCH 17 | FROM VARIETY: Sony subsid Sony Marketing will launch a vid service for Internet users on March 31, the company said.
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This message was sent to cheryl.cheng@reedbusiness.com.
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