Discs Rule the Entertainment Waves

The Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) announced that it has published the 2011 edition of its annual D2 Report: Discs & Digital – The Business of Home Entertainment Retailing.

For more information visit: www.entmerch.org


Unedited press release follows:

Physical Disc Is Still The Favorite Format For Consumers According to EMA’s Annual Report

D2 Report: Discs to Digital Also States that Video Game Consoles Are Rapidly Becoming Entertainment Centers in Console-Owned Households

ENCINO, CA (August 11, 2011) … The Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) released the annual 2011 D2 Report: Discs & Digital – The Business of Home Entertainment Retailing today, and according to the analysis consumer spending on DVD and Blu-ray Discs account for 42% of all video spending and 71% of video games purchased were also in the physical formats. The report also indicates that the video game industry leveled off in 2010 with $15.5 billion in consumer spending, however sales of digital game content has grown. Forty-four percent of console households have purchased downloadable game content and is expected to grow to 58% by 2013. Additionally, the report states that game consoles are quickly becoming entertainment hubs used not only to play video games, but view DVDs and Blu-ray Discs and stream digital content.

“The home entertainment industry should be encouraged by the strong consumer support for packaged media demonstrating that discs and digital content will coexist in the forseeable future,” claimed EMA President and CEO Bo Andersen. “Moreover, consumer spending reflects a desire for connectivity and the option to simultaneously access content on multiple devices, which includes owning the physical copy of the product. EMA is confident that the leaders of this industry will continue to produce and distribute the kind of products that consumers will welcome in their home.”

Highlights of the 2011 annual report include:

• Game Consoles are quickly becoming entertainment centers.

–    U.S. households owning Sony’s PlayStation 3 said it was used for playing DVDs and Blu-ray Discs 27% of the time and 13% of the time was spent downloading or streaming movies.

–    Microsoft’s Xbox was used 40% of the time for non-game play.

• Consumer spending in 2010 for DVD, Blu-ray and digital totaled $18.8 billion – a 3.3% decline over 2009. There were significant areas of growth in spending:

–    Blu-ray disc spending increased 53% over 2009

–    VOD increased 21%

–    Electronic sell-through (EST) increased 16%

• Spending on discs still dominates in 2010

–    Consumer spending on DVD and Blu-ray Discs accounted for 42% of all video spending. This compares with 25% spent at box office, 27% on pay/premium TV and 5% on VOD and EST.

–    DVD and Blu-ray disc sales and rentals provide 51% of studio video revenue. Studio revenue from box office is 26%, premium/pay TV is 16% and VOD/EST is 7%.

• Spending on 3D Blu-ray discs in 2010 was $28.4 million.  This is expected to grow to $682.2 million by 2014.

• The rental business models for consumer spending in 2011 are projected to be 22% in traditional stores, 50% through subscription and 28% at kiosks.

• In 2010 Internet VOD consumer spending was $155 million.  This is projected to reach $439 million by 2015.

• In 2010 EST consumer spending was $231 million.  Spending is projected to grow to $397 million by 2015.

The D2 Report: Discs & Digital – The Business of Home Entertainment Retailing, issued by EMA, brings together data from leading home video and video game industry analysts, including Adams Media Research, Digital Entertainment Group, The NPD Group, Parks Associates, and ScreenDigest. The report replaced EMA’s annual report on the home entertainment industry; unlike the annual report, is not a snapshot of the home entertainment industry in the prior year, but rather identifies and discusses important current trends in the industry and puts them in historical perspective.

The report may be purchased from the Entertainment Merchants Association online at www.EntertainmentMerchantsAssociation.org.

The Entertainment Merchants Association (EMA) is the not-for-profit international trade association dedicated to advancing the interests of the $35 billion home entertainment industry. EMA-member companies operate approximately 35,000 retail outlets in the U.S. and 45,000 around the world that sell and/or rent DVDs, computer and console video games, and digitally distributed versions of these products. Membership comprises the full spectrum of retailers (from single-store specialists to multi-line mass merchants, and both brick and mortar and online stores), distributors, the home video divisions of major and independent motion picture studios, video game publishers, and other related businesses that constitute and support the home entertainment industry. EMA was established in April 2006 through the merger of the Video Software Dealers Association (VSDA) and the Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association (IEMA).