Blu-ray sells stronger than HD DVD in March
HD DVD backers say that will change in the fourth quarter
By Jennifer Netherby -- Video Business, 4/19/2007
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APRIL 19 | Blu-ray Disc sales continued to outpace rival HD DVD in March, something HD DVD backers say will continue until later in the year when a wave of cheaper players and big summer sequels reach disc.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment’s Casino Royale was the top Blu-ray seller in the month, surpassing 59,000 units, according to studio sources. (Sony has said it shipped 100,000 units of the title to retail.)
Warner Home Video’s The Departed held its place as the top-selling HD DVD title, selling 16,000 units in March, surpassing the 13,000 it sold in February, sources said.
HD DVD backers blame Blu-ray’s lead partly on the release slate. HD DVD didn’t have any new releases until the end of the month, when Universal Studios Home Entertainment’s Children of Men and Warner’s Happy Feet debuted. Blu-ray backers have counted on having a larger release slate since launch and promoted it as an edge over HD DVD.
Blu-ray has been outpacing HD DVD sales by a more than two-to-one margin throughout the first quarter. However, Universal, the only studio releasing movies solely on HD DVD, hasn’t given any indication it plans to support both formats, and backers say HD DVD continues to gain ground. Retailers also continue to devote equal shelf space to both, though that could soon change.
“We think retailers will start to dedicate more space to Blu-ray, rather than split it half and half,” Sony worldwide president David Bishop said. “That will further send a signal to consumers that it is the dominant format.”
Changes in Q4
Ken Graffeo, Universal executive VP of marketing and head of high-definition, said that until the fourth quarter, Blu-ray is likely to continue its sales lead, though HD DVD will continue to grow. Consumer electronic sales are slow outside of the holiday season, and the summer’s blockbuster sequels will reach disc then, helping to drive new sales.
“Fourth quarter is really going to be a telling time,” he said.
HD DVD backers are betting that price will continue to drive the format’s adoption. Later in the year, Chinese manufacturers are poised to begin selling relatively inexpensive HD DVD players in the U.S.
“It comes down to bringing it to the general audience at a price that they’re willing to pay,” Graffeo said.
HD DVD players have gotten a sales boost since Toshiba lowered the price on its bottom-line player to $399 on April 1.
New milestones
Backers of both formats hit new milestones in the last couple weeks. HD
DVD backers said consumers have bought 100,000 set-top players since the format’s launch last April.
Blu-ray still has an advantage due to the millions of PlayStation 3s in the market, which have given the format an edge on disc sales. More than 1 million Blu-ray movies had been sold through April, studios say.
Warner has grabbed an exaggerated share of the high-def market by releasing movies in both formats.
“We’ve been asked, doesn’t it cost more to produce in both formats, which is so much the wrong question,” Warner president Ron Sanders said. “If we were only releasing in Blu-ray, you would just off the top take 30% to 40% of revenue out of the titles. For us, it’s paying off nicely.”
