Blu-ray and DVD Rule Britannia

The British Video Association announced its newly published annual yearbook reports that the vast majority of the UK video market continues to be dominated by physical formats such as DVD and Blu-ray discs.

For more information visit: www.bva.org.uk


Unedited press release follows:

22 million British people still buying DVDs

Wednesday 11 June 2014 — The 21st edition of the British Video Association’s Yearbook, published today, reveals that more than 22 million people bought a video on DVD or Blu-ray Disc in 2013, compared with just 3.3 million who subscribe to a Video-on-Demand service such as Netflix or Amazon Prime Instant, proving the overwhelming popularity of Blu-ray Discs and DVDs for watching video entertainment. In fact 73% of the total £2.24 billion video market remains in a physical rather than a digital format.  However, as the Yearbook illustrates, most of Britain’s video viewing is increasingly made up of a combination of disc and digital services to suit today’s lifestyles.

There is still something very special about owning a title on video, with 70% of consumers paying to keep and just 30% renting, according to consumer feedback.  Owning a disc firmly remains the preference over a digital download and this is driven primarily by family viewing.  92% of consumers’ expenditure is on physical discs and just 8% on digital video.  And Blu-ray Disc sales grew 10% in 2013, as consumers appreciated watching video in high definition, as sales of jumbo screen TVs continued to grow, with 50”+ up 21% last year.

The BVA Yearbook contains a wealth information on the video market and its customers, including sales and shipments; release data; distributor and retailer market shares; video charts by both format and genre; rental and digital; consumer behaviour and profiles; and general hardware, technology and leisure spending. Data comes from a wide selection of respected industry sources, including Official Charts Company, IHS, GfK, Kantar and MediaTel amongst others.

The Yearbook also features guest articles from industry leaders and the Foreword is written by Viscount Younger of Leckie, the Minister for Intellectual Property.

The book is launched by BVA Director General Lavinia Carey, who comments:  “British people have always been passionate about video, be it film, TV, children’s, music, live comedy or sport and fitness. It is testament to video’s massive popular appeal that in a tough economic environment consumer spend in 2013 remained strong and even grew 0.5% year on year. The nature of video viewing is changing and our Members are rising to that challenge and working hard with retailers and the wider industry to provide audiences with great content on all the formats possible to suit every taste. This Yearbook provides all the data the industry needs on sales, releases, companies and consumers. From Skyfall to Breaking Bad, from Blinkbox to Xbox, you’ll find valuable information in one handy reference book.”

The Yearbook is available for £179 as a paperback and for £279 as a PDF or iPad digital copy.

Visit the BVA shop to order a copy or for further information please contact Lavinia Carey or Giles Finnemore on 020 7439 8817.