Studios switch to digital screeners
APRIL 11 | Studios are wielding a new weapon in the battle against piracy: digitally delivered film screeners. In recent months, Warner Home Video, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment have all rolled out ‘e-screener’ programs, under which retailers can download or stream copy-protected films to their computers.

March retail sales up, but consumer electronics' impact mixed
APRIL 11 | FROM TWICE: While national mass merchants and warehouse clubs all reported higher March sales, the impact of electronics and the early Easter date were mixed.

3D TV: Already in your home
APRIL 11 | FROM VARIETY: Flat-panel TVs from Samsung and some other manufacturers can already display 3D (with glasses required), though they're not yet touting the feature. And Blu-ray discs are capable of 3D.

Mary Daily joins Fox marketing unit
APRIL 11 | 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment named international executive Mary Daily its new executive VP of marketing for North America.

Sam Raimi scares up new horror label
APRIL 11 | Spider-Man filmmaker Sam Raimi is swinging into the direct-to-DVD market with new label Ghost House Underground.

Sony gives BD Live marketing slow start
APRIL 10 | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is going to market its first BD Live, Web-enabled features slowly. The studio makes little mention of BD Live in TV ads or newspaper circulars for April 8 Blu-ray Disc releases Walk Hard and The Sixth Day, its first with Web connectivity features.

Gaming retailer pitches new vision for stores
APRIL 10 | In a gaming industry where virtual worlds are attracting more people, one videogame retailer will try to also make the shopping experience a little more, well, virtual.

Movie Gallery reorganization plan confirmed by Court
APRIL 10 | The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Va., has confirmed Movie Gallery’s reorganization plan. The company expects to emerge from bankruptcy this quarter.

New execs lay out Image turnaround plan
APRIL 9 | Image Entertainment is looking to reverse its fortunes in fiscal 2009, and during a Wednesday Webcast with analysts, new president David Borshell and new chief acquisitions officer Bill Bromiley sketched how they plan to do it.

Gaming world will expand, virtually
APRIL 9 | More than a third of the Internet users who will sample virtual gaming within the next year will become weekly participants, feeding the growth of such titles as Linden Lab’s Second Life and Neopets.

Navarre forecasts $7 million fiscal 2008 income
APRIL 9 | Navarre Corp. is projecting upbeat earnings for its just ended fiscal 2008 and forthcoming 2009.

Circuit City has Q4 operating loss on lower sales
APRIL 9 | Circuit City reported a fiscal fourth-quarter operating loss today, as weaker video-equipment sales offset revenue gains for flat-panel TVs and videogaming products. The company, which had a net profit on a tax benefit, said fiscal 2009 same-store sales will fall about 5%.

Image sues Relativity over 2006 distribution deal
APRIL 8 | Image Entertainment is suing Relativity Media over a 2006 DVD output agreement that was supposed to bring at least three films for Image DVD distribution in 2007, followed by as many as 20 films annually. Since 2006, Relativity has produced several movies, including 3:10 to Yuma and The Bank Job, but Lionsgate is overseeing theatrical and DVD distribution for both of them.

IRS withdraws objection to Movie Gallery reorganization
APRIL 8 | The Internal Revenue Service has withdrawn its objection to Movie Gallery’s reorganization plan, helping to pave the way for the plan to be confirmed April 9.

Nim's Island passes Leatherheads
APRIL 8 | VARIETY BOX-OFFICE REPORT: Fox fantasy adventure Nim's Island jumped past George Clooney's Leatherheads for the second spot at the weekend box office, reversing Sunday's order of finish. Final figures released Monday showed Island nearly matching its Sunday estimate with $13.2 million.

EMA supports rejection of Minnesota videogame law
APRIL 8 | The following summarizes key government affairs activities during March of the Entertainment Merchants Assn.

Schoonover welcomes sit-down with Wattles
APRIL 8 | FROM TWICE: Circuit City CEO Phil Schoonover has formally responded directly to activist investor Mark Wattles’ request for a sit-down.

EMA to honor Begley with Humanitarian Award
APRIL 8 | Entertainment Merchants Assn. will present actor Ed Begley Jr. the Humanitarian Award at the upcoming Home Media Expo, which will be held June 24-26 at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

Disney acquires China’s GameStar
APRIL 8 | FROM VARIETY: Continuing its acquisition spree and making its first purchase in Asia, Disney Interactive Studios has acquired Chinese videogame developer GameStar.

Web site relaunch lifts Virgin revenue
APRIL 7 | Virgin Megastores credited its recent Web site makeover for revenue gains in 2007.