Fresh Content Could Command Higher Prices in Blu-ray, Study Finds

[PaulGo]

Fresh Content Could Command Higher Prices in Blu-ray, Study Finds

By Danny King

A few billion dollars is a lot to leave on the table.

That’s what studios and retailers may be doing by not boosting prices of day-and-date Blu-ray DVDs and video-on-demand titles, according to a study released this week. The sellers could raise prices to reflect pent-up demand, the study said.

Such distributors may have an opportunity to bag an additional $5 billion annually over the next two years by factoring in consumers’ thirst for first-date Blu-ray titles, consulting firm Oliver Wyman said in a statement.

By charging about $8 for the Blu-ray titles, or double the typical $4 price of standard DVD or video-on-demand films, retailers may help drive U.S. home entertainment spending up 10% to about $55 billion a year, the firm said, citing a survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers. Sales will be driven by both the higher price and an increase in buyers.

The victory of Sony’s Blu-ray format over Toshiba’s competing HD DVD in February is being touted by movie studios and industry analysts alike as a savior to a DVD market that suffered declining sales last year.

Some studios have estimated that the Blu-ray victory will push this year's high-definition disc sales and rentals to $1 billion from about $300 million last year. That $700 million jump represents about 3% of the $24 billion spent on DVD rentals and purchases last year. The Wyman study signals an even more aggressive jump by forecasting a 6% increase in packaged media revenues due to more Blu-ray demand.

“This research reveals a clear opportunity for the industry to introduce new offerings that tap unmet consumer demand, while fitting well with existing movie distribution channels,” said Mark Teitell, a partner at Oliver Wyman, in a statement.

Studios and retailers may generate additional sales by charging as much as $2 for embedding electronic copies in DVDs. Studios such as Lionsgate, Warner Home Video and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment have already started experimenting with the inclusion of digital copies that can be downloaded to portable players.

http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/04/f...command_hi.php

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by PaulGo

Fresh Content Could Command Higher Prices in Blu-ray, Study Finds

By Danny King

A few billion dollars is a lot to leave on the table.

That’s what studios and retailers may be doing by not boosting prices of day-and-date Blu-ray DVDs and video-on-demand titles, according to a study released this week. The sellers could raise prices to reflect pent-up demand, the study said.

Such distributors may have an opportunity to bag an additional $5 billion annually over the next two years by factoring in consumers’ thirst for first-date Blu-ray titles, consulting firm Oliver Wyman said in a statement.

By charging about $8 for the Blu-ray titles, or double the typical $4 price of standard DVD or video-on-demand films, retailers may help drive U.S. home entertainment spending up 10% to about $55 billion a year, the firm said, citing a survey of 2,000 U.S. consumers. Sales will be driven by both the higher price and an increase in buyers.

The victory of Sony’s Blu-ray format over Toshiba’s competing HD DVD in February is being touted by movie studios and industry analysts alike as a savior to a DVD market that suffered declining sales last year.

Some studios have estimated that the Blu-ray victory will push this year's high-definition disc sales and rentals to $1 billion from about $300 million last year. That $700 million jump represents about 3% of the $24 billion spent on DVD rentals and purchases last year. The Wyman study signals an even more aggressive jump by forecasting a 6% increase in packaged media revenues due to more Blu-ray demand.

“This research reveals a clear opportunity for the industry to introduce new offerings that tap unmet consumer demand, while fitting well with existing movie distribution channels,” said Mark Teitell, a partner at Oliver Wyman, in a statement.

Studios and retailers may generate additional sales by charging as much as $2 for embedding electronic copies in DVDs. Studios such as Lionsgate, Warner Home Video and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment have already started experimenting with the inclusion of digital copies that can be downloaded to portable players.

http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/04/f...command_hi.php

lol, and they would just kill all new releases for me , It'd be back to buying used after waiting a while . Sheesh, when will studios learn that we're already getting pissed off at high prices

[WriteSimply]

Originally Posted by wormraper

lol, and they would just kill all new releases for me , It'd be back to buying used after waiting a while . Sheesh, when will studios learn that we're already getting pissed off at high prices

The STUDY said that there's money to be gained by the studios if they raised their prices. The STUDIO HAS NOT RAISED their prices.

It's a rather stupid conclusion to the study. Just because there is demand doesn't mean that the price can be inflated on a whim because higher prices will deflate demand. BDs are not like water, electricity or gas.


fuad

[TheTenth]

man, these guys made studies of economics? can't they understand that the "more, more, always more" can't go forever? their margin is already profitable enough, why can't they understand that lowering the prices by 15% will bring 25+% more sales???

[lgans316]

This article is nothing new to many of us as we already have a Studio by name FOX who have been commanding high prices on all their medias.

[AikonEnt]

Well if they did put the prices up for new releases I would stop buying them. I would just wait until the prices are reduced. There are plenty of Blu's (mainly Fox) that I would like but they are charging way too much so I refuse to buy them and as they're region locked I can't import them from the US for the cheaper prices

[wormraper]

Originally Posted by WriteSimply

The STUDY said that there's money to be gained by the studios if they raised their prices. The STUDIO HAS NOT RAISED their prices.

It's a rather stupid conclusion to the study. Just because there is demand doesn't mean that the price can be inflated on a whim because higher prices will deflate demand. BDs are not like water, electricity or gas.


fuad

yeah, I know, I'm just saying I hope the studios don't listen because that's what would happen. As said already, you can only go up up up so far before you hit a brick wall. It's not an infinite demand with an infinite price ceiling.

[AaronSCH]

Originally Posted by lgans316

This article is nothing new to many of us as we already have a Studio by name FOX who have been commanding high prices on all their medias.

Amazon has quietly reduced the prices on many Fox titles. This usually reflects a price reduction by the studio. I suspect Fox isn't moving the numbers that Warner Bros., Disney and Sony enjoy with their catalog titles.