Woochifer
11-13-2009, 12:32 PM
Looks like the price war on the DVD side (with Amazon, Walmart, and Target advertising $10 new release DVDs on their websites) is beginning to spread over to the Blu-ray side of the aisle.
New release pricing on the upcoming Harry Potter, Hangover, and Terminator: Salvation BD releases will go as low as $16. And it looks like "historical low" pricing will also be in place for the upcoming Star Trek and Night At The Museum BD releases.
These prices are already close to the discounted new release prices on DVDs (at least, the prevailing price points before the latest price war started), so this could be the turning point where consumers seriously begin to pick the BD version instead of the DVD in large numbers.
The studios are hoping that prices will go back up in January, but I don't see how the market can grow the BD market while indefinitely keeping the BD price points at $25 to $30+. The sub-$20 price point might be here to stay after the holidays, and that would bode very well for sustaining the BD format's growth.
http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6706747.html
Target's Black Friday circular also got leaked. They are offering up some of Warner's older BD titles (Goodfellas, 2001, V For Vendetta, I Am Legend) for $9 each.
They will also have the Sony BDP-S360 player for $150, but throw in a $20 gift card with the purchase.
http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6706697.html
The other interesting news on the retail side is Best Buy tripling the amount of shelf space for Blu-ray titles. Last year, they allocated about 10% to Blu-ray, and this year they plan to increase that to about 30%.
Some stores are also experimenting with different shelf configurations, mixing in studio-specific kiosks that highlight catalog titles alongside the new releases. They're also looking at splitting the Blu-ray sections up by genre, which they (and most other stores) don't currently do.
http://www.homemediamagazine.com/best-buy/best-buy-boosts-blu-17570
New release pricing on the upcoming Harry Potter, Hangover, and Terminator: Salvation BD releases will go as low as $16. And it looks like "historical low" pricing will also be in place for the upcoming Star Trek and Night At The Museum BD releases.
These prices are already close to the discounted new release prices on DVDs (at least, the prevailing price points before the latest price war started), so this could be the turning point where consumers seriously begin to pick the BD version instead of the DVD in large numbers.
The studios are hoping that prices will go back up in January, but I don't see how the market can grow the BD market while indefinitely keeping the BD price points at $25 to $30+. The sub-$20 price point might be here to stay after the holidays, and that would bode very well for sustaining the BD format's growth.
http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6706747.html
Target's Black Friday circular also got leaked. They are offering up some of Warner's older BD titles (Goodfellas, 2001, V For Vendetta, I Am Legend) for $9 each.
They will also have the Sony BDP-S360 player for $150, but throw in a $20 gift card with the purchase.
http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6706697.html
The other interesting news on the retail side is Best Buy tripling the amount of shelf space for Blu-ray titles. Last year, they allocated about 10% to Blu-ray, and this year they plan to increase that to about 30%.
Some stores are also experimenting with different shelf configurations, mixing in studio-specific kiosks that highlight catalog titles alongside the new releases. They're also looking at splitting the Blu-ray sections up by genre, which they (and most other stores) don't currently do.
http://www.homemediamagazine.com/best-buy/best-buy-boosts-blu-17570