Wall St Journal story on brisk DVD/Blu catalog sales (1 Viewer)

Interesting article and good news. Thanks for posting link.

I'm surprised to read that catalog sales amount to 44% of the total last year. Pleased but surprised.

I agree. I was very surprised by the information in this article. But if it means more classics are coming to Blu-ray, then hallelujah!

As the article suggested, the buying demographics support catalog titles over the new releases as the more mature demographic prefers older films and likes physical media over downloading and streaming.

Hopefully the marketing people at the studios will read this article and see that gaudy 44% market share and realize they're missing out on the home theater market's golden goose...the perennials in their catalog have serious staying power and are still waiting to be properly prepped and released to a wide-ranging demographic...

lukejosephchung said:

Hopefully the marketing people at the studios will read this article and see that gaudy 44% market share and realize they're missing out on the home theater market's golden goose...the perennials in their catalog have serious staying power and are still waiting to be properly prepped and released to a wide-ranging demographic...

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You will see some actual quotes in that article from marketing executives like Jeff Baker of Warner.

Good news, since I stream as a last resort. Watched Tillsamman(sp???) Over the weekend. Streamed off Netflix. Only third use of Netflix this year. Been watching some British TV on Hulu that has no chance of a domestic dvd...or no chance with a price I want to pay.

That is good news. I was starting to worry about the future of catalog Blu releases. I feel better about it now.

So does this mean blu ray upgrades for Spartacus, Greatest Story Ever Told, Longest Day, etc.....?

The reason isn't hard to find. Amid a nearly decadelong drop in sales of new movies on DVD and Blu-ray, demand for so-called catalog titles, which have been on the market at least three months and sometimes much longer, have held up better.

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So a recent movie like Wreck-It-Ralph is a catalog movie once its been on the shelves for 3 months? I've always thought of catalog titles as much older.

Yes, the breakdown is unclear here regarding the percentages of recent and near recent titles vs. deep, deeper, and much deeper catalogue.

This article is one more example that the myth of the younger consumer being the only consumer to accept new products is just that, a MYTH. If it were so, only young people would have invested in Blu and we now know that just isn't the case, though when it was introduced it was primarily marketed to younger people with the majority of titles being recent releases. When will the paradigm largely started in the 60's that claims older people never change their buying habits be put to rest?

Professor Echo said:

This article is one more example that the myth of the younger consumer being the only consumer to accept new products is just that, a MYTH. If it were so, only young people would have invested in Blu and we now know that just isn't the case, though when it was introduced it was primarily marketed to younger people with the majority of titles being recent releases. When will the paradigm largely started in the 60's that claims older people never change their buying habits be put to rest?

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I'm part of the mature demographic and within the past year, I've purchased an Apple TV, Roku Stick and Roku 3 for downloading and streaming along with utilizing my Amazon Prime, smart BD players and such. However, so far this year, I still bought 166 different BD/DVD releases including several boxsets. And that's not including the several preorders I have coming in the next three months or so. The studios need to remember that mature demographic has plenty of discretionary funds too and often more of it than the 19-34 demographic.

...but no matter how you slice the hard media pie, since '04 it's been steadily getting smaller...and smaller...and smaller..:



If I may borrow a quote from Toy Story; "This isn't flying, this is falling with style!"

Niche markets are nothing to fear though. With niches, more keenly targeted product gets released. LD was a niche, and I have no problem with its legacy in terms of catalogue content...in some respects, we're still catching up. I mean, isn't it better to have a niche that the studios work really well, than a pseudo-mass market awash in indifferent, nth retread product?

Always be wary of any article that lumps DVD and Blu-ray together. Not only is the whole physical media market shrinking, but around 75% of all physical media sales are DVDs.And from the article itself:

Older movies are also getting more space via inexpensive DVDs at the checkout stands of grocery stores and drugstores, says David Bishop, president of Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.Unlike beautifully packaged Blu-ray upgrades, such [DVD] movies appeal to price-conscious impulse shoppers who, according to Warner's Mr. Baker, account for 80% of catalog purchases.

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This past year has been great for catalog releases on Blu-ray, but the picture is not quite as rosy as some people paint it. This is why, as much as we would all like to imagine things getting better, more and more catalog releases on Blu are only released via small niche companies like Twilight Time and Olive. And that, in and of itself, is not a bad thing... except that many popular catalog titles seem to be in limbo.

Persianimmortal said:

Always be wary of any article that lumps DVD and Blu-ray together. Not only is the whole physical media market shrinking, but around 75% of all physical media sales are DVDs.And from the article itself:


This past year has been great for catalog releases on Blu-ray, but the picture is not quite as rosy as some people paint it. This is why, as much as we would all like to imagine things getting better, more and more catalog releases on Blu are only released via small niche companies like Twilight Time and Olive. And that, in and of itself, is not a bad thing... except that many popular catalog titles seem to be in limbo.

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Nor as bleak as some people have paint it.

Fair enough, it's not bleak either. As I said, the past year has been surprisingly good for catalog releases on Blu.

But the data tends to suggest that catalog sales are being driven quite likely by a scenario such as a middle-aged housewife grabbing a DVD copy of Dirty Dancing from their local supermarket, rather than film fans snapping up copies of the tremendous Lawrence of Arabia on Blu-ray.

When even here on this forum we have to have a lengthy contest just to see which handful of catalog titles will be released by Fox on Blu, as though they're doing us a favor, then it's not all beer and skittles. Many notable titles aren't even slated for a release anytime soon. It's amazing to me that I can buy a copy of Logan's Run on Blu-ray, but the infinitely superior sci-fi film The Time Machine, or classics like The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit are MIA for over six years since the Blu-ray format's release.

The Time Machine sounds like a no-brainer. It seems to have done well on home video in the past; and they ought to get around to it--same with about 5,000 other films, though. Wonder if this article will make heads turn?

Persianimmortal said:

Fair enough, it's not bleak either. As I said, the past year has been surprisingly good for catalog releases on Blu.

But the data tends to suggest that catalog sales are being driven quite likely by a scenario such as a middle-aged housewife grabbing a DVD copy of Dirty Dancing from their local supermarket, rather than film fans snapping up copies of the tremendous Lawrence of Arabia on Blu-ray.

When even here on this forum we have to have a lengthy contest just to see which handful of catalog titles will be released by Fox on Blu, as though they're doing us a favor, then it's not all beer and skittles. Many notable titles aren't even slated for a release anytime soon. It's amazing to me that I can buy a copy of Logan's Run on Blu-ray, but the infinitely superior sci-fi film The Time Machine, or classics like The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit are MIA for over six years since the Blu-ray format's release.

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To tell you the truth, I'm surprise that so many catalog titles have made it to Blu-ray. The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit didn't make it to SD DVD until 2005 which is a good 8 years after that format's release. After an expensive format war and the world economy tanking, I think the Blu-ray format has done okay with so many classic films either on BD or coming soon as studios prepare these titles as some come close to certain anniversary dates.