Modest Gains Expected in Home-Video Market

ENCINO, June 24: A new
report from the Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) forecasts that
home-video spending in the U.S. will rise just 7 percent to $25.6 billion in
2012 from $24 billion in 2007.

The 2008 Annual Report on
the Home Entertainment Industry notes that the home-video market accounted for
49 percent of all consumer spending on movies in 2007. Home-entertainment
revenues include $15.9 billion spent on DVD purchases and $8.2 billion on
rentals. Traditional rental stores, led by Blockbuster, took in 73 percent of
the rental business in 2007. Online subscription rentals (such as Netflix) held
25 percent of the market.

Spending on
high-definition discs last year was $260 million, with 9 million units
purchased. The study forecasts that in 2012, Blu-ray sales will exceed that of
standard-definition DVDs, generating sales of $9.5 billion.

"Consumers remain
enamored with DVD and video games even as they incorporate new forms of
entertainment media into their consumption patterns," noted Bo Andersen,
the president and CEO of EMA. "New generations of hardware and software,
and alternative delivery channels, will ensure that home video and video games
remain phenomenally popular entertainment options for the American public for
years to come."

—By Mansha Daswani