DVD Geared For Biggest 4th Quarter Ever

More Than Two Billion DVD Titles Shipped Since Launch, DVD Players On Target To Be In More Than Half Of U.S. Homes By Year-End

24-Oct-03

DVD title shipments continue at a record pace as the industry ramps up for the holiday selling season. In the third quarter of 2003, nearly 215 million DVD software units shipped to retail, a 40 percent increase over the same period last year. According to figures compiled by Ernst & Young on behalf of the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG), the total number of units shipped in North America has reached more than two billion since the DVD format's launch in 1997.""The fourth quarter of this year looks to be shaping up as one of the strongest in this industry's history. Not only has the hardware penetration grown beyond our expectations, the lineup and diversity of the software titles being offered will prove to make this year end a phenomenal success,"" says Bob Chapek, President of Buena Vista Home Entertainment and President of DEG. The fourth quarter holiday selling season is anticipated to be the biggest yet for the format, supported by $3.8 billion worth of box office hits being released on DVD. In addition, other genres such as episodic TV, family movies, classics, and music titles continue to fuel DVD sales. More than 26,000 titles are currently available.In addition, a variety of DVD-Audio titles are available in time for holiday gift giving. More than 350 titles are available, all which can be played on a current DVD player, or played in a DVD-Audio/Video model to fully experience DVD-Audio. As with DVD Music Video, DVD-Audio offers fans ""backstage access"" to bonus features such as additional footage, lyrics, exclusive photos, and other extras.More Than 73 Million DVD Players Sold In The U.S.According to figures compiled by the DEG based on data from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), retailers, and manufacturers, more than 6.4 million DVD players were sold to U.S. consumers in the third quarter of 2003, a 36.5 percent increase over the same period last year. More than 73 million DVD players have sold since launch, bringing the number of DVD households to over 48 million (adjusting for households with more than one player). Due to the variety of players available, from combination TV/DVD and DVD-Audio/Video players, to recordable, portable, and car models, approximately 34 percent of DVD owners now have more than one player.""For the past few years, manufacturers have adopted a strategy of offering consumers a wide array of choices when it comes to purchasing DVD players and this appears to be paying off,"" said Joe Stinziano, General Manager, Home Audio/Video, Sony Electronics and Vice President, DEG. ""As DVD recordable products continue to gain momentum, we're also seeing a marked rise in the purchase of second-room units, many of which are either combination or multi-disc/carousel models.""The Digital Entertainment Group (formerly the DVD Entertainment Group) continues to advocate and promote the many benefits associated with DVD while providing updated information regarding the format to both the media and the retail trade. As an industry-funded, nonprofit organization, the DEG offers opportunities for member companies to engage in ongoing discussions concerning various issues and opportunities, which relate to other new digital technologies that may emerge in the future. Regular members of the DEG are Artisan Home Entertainment, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, DreamWorks Home Entertainment, DTS Entertainment, EMI Recorded Music, HBO Video, Image Entertainment, JVC Company of America, MGM Home Entertainment, New Line Home Entertainment, Panasonic Consumer Electronics, Paramount Home Entertainment, Philips Consumer Electronics, Pioneer Electronics (USA), Sony Electronics, Sony Music Entertainment, Thomson, Toshiba America Consumer Products, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Universal Music Group, Universal Studios Home Video, and Warner Home Video. Associate members are Alta Resources, Blink Digital, Clear-Vu Products, Crest National, Deluxe Media Services, Digital Video Compression Corporation, InterActual Technologies, Macrovision, Media Copy, Metropolis DVD, MX Entertainment, Muze, Sonopress, Sony Disc Manufacturing, and Technicolor.For more information, visit www.digitalentertainmentinfo.com.

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