Bob Iger, CEO of Disney, has spoken out about the current state of the home entertainment industry, revealing that there is still a market for DVDs - but a better choice of things to do in the home and not just the economic climate is having an impact on sales.
Interviewed on The Charlie Rose Show, Iger said that Disney was looking at all areas of distribution of its movies, but there was still a place for DVDs.
"The home video business is more challenged than ever before. And that's the problem," Iger explained.
"People are still buying [discs]… They're just not buying as many of them.And the primary reason, I would argue, is that they have other things to do."
Iger continued: "Technology may stand, but you are still facing a more competitive world. You have many more choices today than you ever did before. It's not just more channels, it is more websites, social networking and games, all of those things.
"I look at my kids' generation and it is not just about watching a TV show or a movie any more, it is about doing other things."
Taking the Mickey
When it comes to the download/DVD debate, Iger believes that while the internet is playing a big part in Disney's distribution plans, there is still a gap between how much money Disney was making in the DVD's heyday and its combined download and disc sales at the moment.
"There are all kinds of video on demand, pay per view and electronic sell-through – where you sell someone the movie to own on a hard drive – and that is all growing nicely," said Iger.
"But while that is growing fast, it hasn't grown large enough to make up for the loss of sale from physical goods.
"It will continue to grow, whether the whole will ultimately grow enough to be like what we had in the beginning of DVDs, I don't know."
Disney DVD sales are down 15 per cent year on year, according to Iger, but he believes that the humble disc isn't dead yet just "not as healthy as it was".
