The U.S. DVD market might be headed the way of the silent movies, as sales down for a second straight year, DVDs continue to lose their luster, while a deepening recession suggests entertainment conglomerate stocks won’t shine any time soon, Analyst’s cite data from trade group Digital Entertainment Group, which shows that US consumer spending on home entertainment fell 5.7% last year to US$22.4B, driven by a 6.3% decline in DVD sales direct to consumers, AKA “sell-through”.
Within sell-through, Blu-ray sales gained traction, while standard-definition DVD sales dropped 9.5%. Not only did sell-through demand deteriorate as the year unfolded, but the drop also “appears to be most pronounced among new releases,” with unit sales down nearly 20% in 2008, compared with a 6% decline in catalog titles. There are estimates in the market that US home entertainment spending to fall 7% in 2009, 6% in 2010 and another 7% in 2011.
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