More than 17 million homes in the U.S. had one sort of Blu-ray playback device or another by the end of 2009, up an enormous 76% from last year. Overseas there are another 23 million homes with one of 80-plus models of Blu-ray players, including PlayStation 3.
Meanwhile, Blu-ray disc sales catapulted another 70% last year and Blu-ray rentals were up 48%, combining to drive spending well above to $1 billion for the first time and all the way up to $1.5 billion, according to the annual year-end home entertainment report by DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
In the fourth quarter Blu-ray sales exceeded $500 million, representing 13.4% of all disc sales, a big leap from representing 8% in the previous three quarters.
New titles were up 35% and sales of older so-called “catalog” titles doubled.
Five Blu-ray Disc releases enjoyed sales in excess of 1 million units in 2009, led by top-seller “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” A number of distinct hits marked 2009 including “Twilight” (Summit Entertainment), “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” (Paramount Home Entertainment) and “The Hangover” (Warner Home Video) as the three highest grossing home entertainment titles of the year.
(Story continues after 90-second video below featuring highlights of presentation at DEG event.)
Although the surge in Blu-ray is compensating a great deal for the rapid decline in the DVD market, it is not covering the gap entirely. There are 92 million U.S. homes with DVD players, 67% of which have more than one DVD player, compared to 17.3 mil. homes with Blu-ray devices. Nearly 23 million DVD players were sold in the U.S. in 2009 alone, compared to 8 million Blu-ray players, 4.5 mil. of which were sold in the fourth quarter.
Overall consumer spending on pre-recorded home entertainment content last year was down 5% to $20 billion.
“The home entertainment business is doing remarkably well given the overall economic environment,” said Ron Sanders, President, DEG and President, Warner Home Video. “We have seen tremendous growth in both Blu-ray hardware and software, consumer transactions are up and we are looking forward to seeing some stabilization in the packaged goods sell-through business in the coming year.”
U.S. CONSUMER HOME ENTERTAINMENT RENTAL & SELL-THROUGH SPENDING
(in billions)
Year VHS/UMD DVD BD/HiDef Digital TOTAL
1999 $12.2 $1.1 $0.0 $0.6 $13.9
2000 $11.4 $2.4 $0.0 $0.7 $14.5
2001 $10.9 $5.3 $0.0 $0.7 $16.9
2002 $9.6 $8.6 $0.0 $0.7 $19.0
2003 $6.9 $13.1 $0.0 $0.7 $20.7
2004 $4.4 $16.7 $0.0 $0.7 $21.8
2005 $2.1 $18.9 $0.0 $0.8 $21.7
2006 $0.4 $20.2 $0.0 $1.0 $21.6
2007 $0.1 $19.7 $0.3 $1.3 $21.4
2008 $0.1 $18.4 $0.9 $1.6 $21.0
2009 $0.0 $16.4 $1.5 $2.1 $20.0
The DEG has re-stated its historical figures based on the 2009 revised reporting from Rentrak Corporation’s Home Video Essentials.
“With Blu-ray titles topping $1 billion in sales and Blu-ray hardware now in 17 million U.S. homes, the format is well on its way to mainstream consumer adoption,” said Bob Chapek, Chairman, DEG and President, Distribution, The Walt Disney Studios. “With the industry’s recent finalization of 3-D specs, next year promises to be an extraordinary year for consumers to experience the expanded possibilities of Blu-ray.”
The group also noted that rental spending was up 4.2% to $6.5 billion for the year, according to Rentrak Corporation’s Home Video Essentials. Total annual spending on sell-through of Blu-ray Disc and DVD was down 13% to $11.4 billion.
HDTV
The DEG estimates that more than 71 million HDTV sets have sold to consumers. With the number of HDTV households at nearly 48 million, DEG estimates that 33% of HDTV homes have more than one set.
Blu-ray Disc players are available at more than 10,000 storefronts and are marketed from leading manufacturers. There are nearly 80 Blu-ray playback devices available, with set-top models from as low as $99 (manufacturers’ suggested retail price – street prices may vary).
— By Scott Hettrick