DVD and Blu-ray sales down, Hollywood to blame

The state of the home entertainment market has been analysed by the NPD group, which suggests that DVD and Blu-ray sales in the US in 2011 are way down on 2010's figures.

The report, which has the strangely upbeat title of 'Consumers Still Positive On Blu-ray' noted in the last six months, DVD and Blu-ray sales were down nearly 9.7 per cent compared to last year.

A mixture of consumer confidence and a lack of decent titles from Hollywood is to blame.

Titles not hot enough

"Because fewer hot titles came out of the theatres in time for first quarter release, the physical video-disc market was a bit disappointing – especially coming off of a good first quarter last year.

"While Blu-ray may not be the replacement for DVD that many once hoped for, it is certainly adding strength to the physical video-disc market. This added stability is helping to extend the life of discs, even as digital options gain in popularity."

Another report by Futuresource does reveal that Blu-ray is starting to become the favoured physical disc of choice for movie buyers.

This is according to Reg Hardware, which reckons that if things gather the same pace as they are at the moment, then Blu-ray will account for 41 per cent of home entertainment sales in 2012 and DVD just 26 per cent.