EDA And DVDA Europe Merge

1-Jun-00

The European DVD Association created by Mark Windy announced a merger with DVDA-Europe, creating a powerful presence in the DVD industry. Mark Windy of the EDA said, ""I believe the timing for this initiative is perfect and will build nicely on the work done by the EDA and Audiovisual Eureka.""The two associations will bring together important issues with key players in the industry and combine the AV side of the industry (including cinema and TV) with the corporate sector and Web DVD.Sue Cook, Executive Director of the DVDA Europe, said, ""Collaboration and cooperation is vital to grow our industry effectively and our merger represents a stronger voice for the European industry.""Most of the EDA Executive Committee will be joining the DVDA Europe Board to continue building on the subtleties of the European market and ensure issues such as copyright and classification and asset sharing remain a focus within the DVDA Europe.Chapters of the DVDA Europe are currently being set up in the U.K., Norway, Czech Republic, Ireland, Italy and Belgium. Graham Sharpless of Disctronics and head of the U.K. Chapter said, ""The merger of these two associations will result in a single body which will be better able to support the European DVD industry and address the important issues which it faces.""About The EDAThe European DVD Association was started in 1998 by Audiovisual Eureka to help to build a strong European DVD industry. An Executive Committee of DVD professionals assures the strategic decisions and carries out the day to day coordination of the association's key actions.Audiovisual Eureka is an intergovernmental organization consisting of the 34 European governments which acts as a bridge between the EU and the outside countries in the media sector.About DVDA EuropeDVDA Europe was started in January 2000 as an independent organization linked through the DVD Association with DVDA-North America and DVDA-Asia. Paul Holmes, Chief Executive of the DVD Association, stated, ""I am extremely pleased that the two European organizations have agreed to merge. Together they will give European developers a very strong voice. The DVDA Europe mission is to act as a non-profit, impartial organization dedicated to supporting the growth of the DVD industry and our members and to be an effective industry association."" The DVD Association has over 1500 members worldwide.The DVDA Europe is operated by an Advisory Council, a Board of members and two full time staff. Advisory Council members consist of leaders in the industry and is currently being formed. Ben Keen, Screen Digest and John Barker, Inside Multimedia are the first two members of the Advisory Council.

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