Outstanding Third Quarter DVD Results Set The Stage For Explosive Holiday Selling Season

Release Of Long-Awaited Collectibles And Box Office Blockbusters Promise To Make Fourth Quarter Biggest Ever For DVDDVD Player Shipments Near 25 Million

1-Nov-01

DVD hardware and software sales continued their rapid growth in the third quarter and are anticipated to accelerate through the holiday selling season.According to figures compiled by Ernst & Young on behalf of the DVD Entertainment Group, approximately 76 million DVD movies and music video titles shipped in the third quarter of 2001, nearly a 180 percent increase over the same quarter last year. And, more than 225 million units have shipped this year alone -- more than half of all the units shipped since the format launch in 1997. The fourth quarter is anticipated to be even more explosive for the format, with sought-after collectible titles and recent blockbusters hitting retail shelves for the holidays. The DVD Entertainment Group expects total DVD-Video software shipments to top 170 million in the fourth quarter, bringing the total anticipated number of shipments to 400 million units this year.The fourth quarter has opened with record-breaking software sales. The highly anticipated ""Star Wars: Episode 1 -- The Phantom Menace"" (Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment) claimed the crown as the fastest selling DVD of all-time with first day DVD revenue topping $17 million.""We are delighted with the consumer response to the 'Star Wars: Episode 1 -- The Phantom Menace' DVD,"" said Peter Staddon, Senior Vice President of Marketing, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. ""This release demonstrates how the DVD format can be used to take consumers beyond the theatrical experience and give a new dimension to home entertainment.""The long-awaited children's classic ""Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs"" (Buena Vista Home Entertainment) also reached a major milestone by selling more than one million copies in its first day of release. Retailers are anticipating that this title will be the best-selling family DVD to date.""The success of 'Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs Platinum' release on DVD is a strong indication that DVD technology can have broad appeal to the mainstream family audience,"" said Robert Chapek, President, Buena Vista Home Entertainment. ""By creating an innovative DVD, we have been successful in creating an all-new entertainment experience that appeals to all households, whether they are early adopter technophiles, or families interested in superior entertainment.""""The Mummy Returns"" (Universal Studios Home Video) tops the sales charts, selling more than two million copies in its first week.""We raised the bar in the DVD world with 'The Mummy Returns' and we've just begun to come out of the gate and really push the format to its full potential in the fourth quarter,"" Craig Kornblau, President, Universal Studios Home Video.Boxed sets are also anticipated to be big sellers for the holidays, with the eagerly-awaited ""The Godfather DVD Collection"" also a top seller in its first week.""'The Godfather DVD Collection' showcases all that the DVD format has to offer,"" said Meagan Burrows, Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Paramount Home Entertainment. ""We are pleased to see that consumers are as thrilled about 'The Collection' as we are and that sales are very strong.""A number of additional DVD heavyweights will be released in time for the holiday gift-giving season, such as this year's top boxoffice draw, ""Shrek.""""This has been a great year for DVD and consumers are responding to the vast array of exciting hit film and catalogue releases,"" said Kelley Avery, Worldwide Head of DreamWorks Home Entertainment. ""We are confident that 'Shrek' will be one of the biggest selling DVD titles of the year and will be a great success for both DreamWorks and our retail partners.""There are currently 11,500 DVD movies and music video titles available, with nearly 13,000 expected to be released by year-end. The cumulative box office gross of the releases for the fourth quarter is more than $3.2 billion.Music Video Hits A High NoteDVD music video has also been a key growth area of development for the format. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), this segment comprises the largest increase in sales for music. DVD music video sales were up nearly 100 percent to $70 million during this period. Anticipated DVD music video releases for the holidays include titles from chart-topping artists across a number of genres, including Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson (both Sony Music Entertainment), Green Day (Warner Brothers Records), Bonnie Rait (EMI Recorded Music), Backstreet Boys (BMG Entertainment), The Ramones (Rhino Records), Jay-Z (Universal Music Group), Sugar Ray and Paul McCartney (both Image Entertainment).Hardware Continues Record PaceBased on data from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), the sales of all video products were down by nearly 12 percent through the third quarter of this year. Yet even in this environment, DVD continued its record growth. According to figures compiled by the DVD Entertainment Group based on data from the CEA, retailers and manufacturers, more than 3.8 million DVD players were shipped to retail, bringing the total units shipped since the format's launch to more than 24 million. Year-to-date, this represents a 55 percent increase over the same period last year. Hardware players sold through to U.S. consumers have reached more than 22 million units.""DVD continues to be one of the most popular elements of home cinema,"" said Emiel N. Petrone, Chairman, DVD Entertainment Group and Executive Vice President, Philips Entertainment Group, Worldwide. ""With the much anticipated DVD movie classics and blockbuster hits coming to retail, we expect to see DVD grow as we head into the holidays.""The DVD Entertainment Group projects that the growth in DVD player sales will continue and estimates that the number of players shipped since introduction will near 30 million by the end of this year. There are now more than 125 DVD player models marketed under 50 different consumer electronics brands. DVD players are available at practically all consumer electronics retailers and have become the focal point of the home theatre category. There are also a wide variety of DVD products available, including portables, DVD-Video/Audio combination units and car players.For more information about the DVD Entertainment Group, visit www.dvdinformation.com.

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