What's new

TV show Top DVD sales (1 Viewer)

Mikel_Cooperman

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2001
Messages
4,183
Real Name
Mikey
I started another thread about this but posted it in the Regional DVD area.



Interesting list.

CHICAGO (thefutoncritic.com) -- Nearly one third of Amazon.com's top 100 selling DVDs of 2003 were television series according to a recent report by the online retailer. While "Sex and the City's" fourth season was the biggest draw of last year, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" saw all five of its seasons released to date land on the list as did "Angel," "Family Guy" and "24."

Here's a complete list of all TV-related DVDs that made Amazon.com's list (exact figures were not released). The original release date is listed in parenthesis next to each.

10. "Sex and the City: Season 4" (5/20/03)
12. "The Simpsons: Season 3" (8/26/03)
13. "Family Guy: Volume 1" (4/15/03)
14. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 4" (6/10/03)
17. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 3" (1/7/03)
21. "The Sopranos: Season 4" (10/28/03)
23. "Family Guy: Volume 2" (9/9/03)
25. "Friends: Season 3" (4/1/03)
27. "Sex and the City: Season 5" (12/30/03)
29. "Angel: Season 2" (9/2/03)
37. "Angel: Season 1" (2/11/03)
38. "Stargate SG-1: Season 3" (6/17/03)
40. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 5" (12/9/03)
41. "Dawson's Creek: Season 1" (4/1/03)
43. "Friends: Season 4" (7/15/03)
46. "Frank Herbert's Children of Dune" (5/20/03)
48. "24: Season 2" (9/9/03)
54. "24: Season 1" (9/17/02)
62. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 1" (1/15/02)
66. "Band of Brothers" (11/5/02)
67. "M*A*S*H: Season 3" (2/18/03)
68. "Friends: Season 1" (4/30/02)
69. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 2" (6/11/02)
70. "Futurama: Volume 1" (3/25/03)
72. "The West Wing: Season 1" (11/18/03)
73. "Babylon 5: Season 2" (4/29/03)
76. "The Simpsons: Season 2" (8/6/02)
79. "Friends: Season 5" (11/4/03)
82. "Alias: Season 1" (9/2/03)
90. "Babylon 5: Season 3" (8/2/03)
91. "Queer as Folk: Season 2" (2/25/03)
99. "M*A*S*H: Season 4" (7/15/03)
 

Peter Mazur

Second Unit
Joined
May 7, 2001
Messages
436
I find it interesting that there are no Star Trek sets on the list. I figured they would be selling well.
 

DaveGTP

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2002
Messages
2,096
Glad to see Babylon 5 on the list - no official sales numbers are released on it, the only glimpse so far was whether it made the industry top-ten list on its release week. It's done well enough to spur action on a new something-or-other yet-to-be-announced.

Of course, the list in general is presumably a bit tilted, since sales would be affected depending on the price Amazon was asking for.
 

Joshua_W

Second Unit
Joined
Apr 22, 2003
Messages
477

I'm not surprised. Those sets are WAAAY over-priced.

They're also released too close together, too. At those high prices, the sets have probably cannibalized their own sales. Hell, even "The X-Files" didn't make the list. Granted, the later seasons blew, but I suppose the lesson here is "Price to sell."

Look at the sets from last year that are still on the list: Buffy, 24, Simpsons, Friends.

Buffy Season One is still on the 2003 list despite being released in January 2002.
 
Joined
Jul 31, 2002
Messages
43
Have to agree on the price point. I have the first seven seasons of The X-Files, and it's pricey, I have to admit. Four of them were gifts over the years, with three purchased myself. Even still, they get expensive. I imagine I will purchase S8 and S9 to placate the completist in me, but I doubt I will purchase much more in the way of TV stuff that I have seen once before, with the exception of The Simpsons. I have been purchasing The Sopranos on DVD as it is released, because I don't have Movie Central (that's Canada for you) and I am considering picking up The Shield as well. For most people though, $100+ is just too much for DVD product.
 

Joseph DeMartino

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jun 30, 1997
Messages
8,311
Location
Florida
Real Name
Joseph DeMartino
The Amazon numbers are always somewhat skewed because (as hard as it is for some of us to believe) a lot of people still refuse to buy things off the internet, and others still don't have internet connections at all.

The Trek thing doesn't surprise me, either. Relatively speaking Trek fandom as a whole tends to be less wired than the fan community for shows like Buffy, B5 and The X-Files. Given the longevity of the franchise and the number of shows it has produced, Trek actually has relatively few web sites devoted to it in the U.S. and the U.K., and they tend to draw fewer hits than those for shows with much smaller aggregate audiences. (When I was trying to lobby Warner Bros. to release Babylon 5 I didn't some informal surveys, running searches and adding up unique hits, checking counters at a random sampling of sites, etc., trying to convince WB that they couldn't judge the B5 audience by how well Paramount's ST:TOS discs were doing.)

It may be because Trek built a huge fan infrastructure in the days before the 'net, and that web sites are therefore somewhat redundant.

Given that they have less of a web presence it is probably the case that fewer Trek fans knew months in advance about upcoming release, or pre-ordered DVD sets, and therefore that larger numbers of them first learned about each season's release when they actually saw the discs on the shelf at some brick and mortar store - at which point they bought them on the spot rather than going home and surfing the 'net looking for the best price.

When I was checking the Video Business best seller lists to see how B5 was doing, I noticed that while a given season's set might be in the combined Top 30 list when a competing Trek set didn't make the cut, the individual store lists told a different story. A Trek set might appear on a Circuit City list that didn't feature B5, while Amazon.com or another e-tailer would show the reverse.

Regards,

Joe
 

john mcfadden

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Aug 11, 2003
Messages
239
Gotta LOVE that family guy did so well ...yet 3/4's of the commentaries are absent ..(there WAS commentary on every episode till a suit cut them out) ...a-hole!.. i would have loved to go back and hear these on other episodes ....too bad the suits dont listen or think of looking on DVD sites for feedback before striking a DVD for release....:frowning:
BTW NEW FAMILY GUY IN 2005 35 new eps ...due to overwhelming sales on DVD ....hee hee !!!
 

Matt`L

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Dec 22, 2003
Messages
78
Fox have been really good in Australia recently. Admittedly, Buffy was really overpriced here but a few months ago they cut the price of Buffy seasons in half, bringing it in line with the U.S.

Also, they cut the price on X-Files seasons 1-6, meaning I was able to, just a couple of days ago, buy X-Files season six (with postage) for the equivelant of $54USD (cost me $70.30AUD). Not bad at all.

Unfortunately, the price-cuts were only for a few months. It's particular bad in Buffy's case, as it was - as mentioned - grossly overpriced to begin with.
 

DouglasRobert

Second Unit
Joined
Sep 12, 2003
Messages
268
I also agree that the Star Trek sets are way overpriced.

I don't own any of them because of the high price.

Right now both Star Trek TNG and DS9 are out, that's 14 sets altogether.

The SRP of these sets would set you back $1,959.86.
Even at the price you do pay for them, usually around $99.99 the total s $1,399.86

If Paramount would lower the price down to what Fox is selling their 1 hour shows, such as the Buffy series,the price would be $839.72.
At the price you pay, around $44.99 the price would be $629.86 for all 14 sets.

A savings of $770.00
$770 is a lot of money to some people.

If Fox can sell their 1 hour shows for far less than why can't Paramount. They own the rights to the show, so it can't be any licensing costs.

Hopefully Paramount will lower the price down on the Star Trek sets soon.

I refuse to buy them until they are affordable.
 

Adam Horak

Stunt Coordinator
Joined
Jul 3, 2002
Messages
123
Glad to see the success TV on DVD is having. It's great to see so many shows in a high-quality presentation that I get get with my nasty cable signal. I recently picked up The Sopranos S1 and am getting into it. I had never seen the show before as I don't pay for HBO.

I completely agree with everyone that the ST sets are overpriced. That is the only reason I do not own them. If they were brought down to prices similar to the other shows I collect I would start buying them in an instant.
 

Peter Mazur

Second Unit
Joined
May 7, 2001
Messages
436
Douglas,

I hope Paramount is listening because I personally haven't purchased the TNG sets due to the high price. I'm not made of money, and even though I want them badly, I always end up picking up something cheaper instead.
 

Dane Marvin

Screenwriter
Joined
Jul 21, 2003
Messages
1,490
Awesome to see The West Wing on there as well. It probably has a lot to do with the very competitive price Amazon has for it though. Also, it's easy to see that Fox has something in the M*A*S*H sets, as both released last year made the top 100 DVD sales. Hopefully this encourages them to revisit some of their lost classics instead of going full boar on their current shows (can't wait for Lost In Space!).
 

Bill Buklis

Supporting Actor
Joined
Apr 9, 1999
Messages
683
Location
Chicago, IL
Real Name
Bill Buklis
Part of the problem with skewed sales figures for B&M stores for B5 vs. Trek is the marketing or complete lack thereof. At Best Buy, for example, the B5 season sets aren't on the shelf. You have to specifically ask for them from the back. In addition there are no signs anywhere even remotely mentioning their existence - not even on release date.

On the other hand some TV season sets are available on the shelf. So if you happen to scan the shelf, then it just looks like they don't have it, while The Simpsons or Buffy will be readily available.
 

Joseph DeMartino

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jun 30, 1997
Messages
8,311
Location
Florida
Real Name
Joseph DeMartino


The B5 sets are on the shelf at my local Best Buy - although not in the same numbers as other show's sets. You can't generalize from one store that you happen to shop at to an entire chain.

Still, I expect they overall they do sell fewer of the sets, because they stock fewer of them, and they stock fewer of a the most recent set because they sold few of the last set. :) It is kind of a self-perpetuating system. But I still think this is mostly a matter of fans pre-ordering on the web (perhaps including the BestBuy.com site depending on the price) that account for the difference.

The fact is B5 is not a mainstream show in the way that Trek (a 30 plus year cultural icon) or even Buffy (a hit on a broadcast network) is. Jay Leno can do "Klingon" jokes on The Tonight Show and be pretty sure that even folks who never watched the shows will have a rough idea what he's talking about. When he can say that about "Narns" or "Centauri" you can expect Warner Bros. to invest money in in-store promotions for B5 DVDs, not before then.

Regards,

Joe
 

Rob Lutter

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Nov 3, 2000
Messages
4,523
DS9 is one of my favorite shows of all time, but I simply cannot afford it on my measly earnings. They need to lower the prices to Buffy-levels. I have gotten every season of Buf at a sub-$40 level (1+2 with a Best Buy comibination discount and the rest at Costco). I simply cannot afford to be spending more than twice as much for the same amount of show (with Buffy being at a higher level than DS9 in my mind). $40 every 6 months is much better than $100 EVERY month! :)

Paramount can scream ROYALTIES and PACKAGING all they want... I'm still not going to buy it. :)
 

Mikel_Cooperman

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2001
Messages
4,183
Real Name
Mikey
I bought all the Next Generations because I loved the show but it was tough to set the money aside especially after buying a house. Paramount was betting on all those Trekkers running out and buying them and I just think they are two high for everyone to be able to afford. I had to hold off on DS9s because....they are just too much.
The same with X-files which was NOT affordable. I got the first season but just couldnt afford 6 more seasons.
Both I think is greed on the studios part.

From what I have read, TV on DVD is the quite the Thing these days and quick release dates are more and more frequent but with alot of product out there, theres a lot of competition and if the price is too high people are inclined to pick the cheaper product.
 

DaveGTP

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2002
Messages
2,096


Actually, our Best Buy has them on the shelf as well. And advertised in the weekly flier. Not that I buy them from Best Buy.
 

Bill Buklis

Supporting Actor
Joined
Apr 9, 1999
Messages
683
Location
Chicago, IL
Real Name
Bill Buklis
Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that all Best Buys hide their copies. Obviously, not every store is the same. I was more suggesting that difficulties like this contribute to lower sales for B&M stores. For cases similar to this, customers have to go out of their way to acquire it. That shoots down any casual browsers right off the bat.

That was nice that they put it in the flier at least. I don't recall ever seeing it here, but it may have appeared. I don't look at their flyers all that often.
 

Tom B

Grip
Joined
Oct 27, 2003
Messages
22
I for one am surprised Sex in the City does so well in DVD sales. The demographic for this show is women, women, and more women. MOST men I know cant stomach the show and GENERALLY men are the ones purchasing DVDs (just look at the names of this forum's members). Unless these are gifts, it doesn't make sense. Even then I wouldn't want a set of SITC within 200 feet of my house and would never buy it for my wife.
Tom
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Latest Articles

Forum statistics

Threads
356,814
Messages
5,123,660
Members
144,184
Latest member
H-508
Recent bookmarks
0
Top