TV genre tunes in new shades of Blu

Warner, BBC, Discovery experiment with series, prices

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 9/26/2008

SEPT. 26 | The TV on Blu-ray Disc category now features more than just the hits, as studios are starting to bow niche and catalog series in the format.

Studios have generally been cautious about releasing multi-disc TV series in the pricey Blu-ray format, with mostly current, established hits such as Lionsgate’s Weeds and Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment’s Lost and Grey’s Anatomy getting a showing on Blu-ray.

Yet Warner Home Video, BBC Video and Discovery Communications are among suppliers spreading their TV on Blu-ray wings. Studios are choosing smaller titles with splashy visuals that are well-suited for the format. Others, such as Discovery, are testing targeted retail promotions and considering inexpensively priced, truncated sets to boost the Blu-ray category.

“We are definitely starting to look at Blu-ray for TV, and we want to be more aggressive in the future,” said Rosemary Markson, Warner VP of TV marketing. “I think day-and-date releases of shows [on Blu-ray and standard DVD] makes sense. We are looking for that right product that shows off the benefits of Blu-ray.”

Warner is streeting several first-season sets of modestly rated TV series that are still building audiences, including Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Pushing Daisies, both released recently, and Nov. 11 release Chuck. Also, Warner is circling catalog for the first time and is eyeing an upcoming Blu-ray release for Friends.

“We think there is a market there, and we are actively looking at our catalog,” said Markson. “There are great series we can go back to, and Friends is one of them.”

For Supernatural’s third season, Warner will release the show on Blu-ray for the first time on Nov. 11.

Last year, Warner was behind just two Blu-ray TV releases: the latest seasons of long-running Smallville and Nip/Tuck.

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment will get into Blu-ray catalog TV with the Nov. 11 complete series release of Firefly, which streeted on standard DVD in 2003.

BBC (distributed by Warner) launched its debut Blu-ray scripted series, first seasons of cult favorites Robin Hood and Torchwood, on Aug. 5 and Sept. 16, respectively. To manage higher production costs, BBC decided to release shows that had already been mastered and released for standard DVD.

Discovery, which spans programming across such networks as Discovery Channel, Animal Planet and TLC, plans to release 18 Blu-ray titles in 2009, marking a bump from the three it streeted in 2007 and 11 this year. The company distributes its titles through Image Entertainment and Genius Products.

Discovery will heavily support Sept. 30 release When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions in Borders stores because of the chain’s tendency to shelve titles longer than mass merchants. 

“Borders has taken in a substantial amount of inventory, and they’ve made a great commitment on it … and there will be in-store promotion,” said Dan Hamby, Discovery VP of home video. “This is the type of content that you can’t have come in and out very fast, and this will stay there for a long time. We are looking at the right places to take something.”

Additionally, Discovery has decided to bow certain series on Blu-ray exclusively through its Web site, www.discoverystore.com, to help gauge consumer reaction before rolling out elsewhere. Discovery’s Sunrise Earth on Blu-ray had previously been limited to sales on the site but is starting to spread to other retail outlets, including its Nov. 4 debut at Amazon.com.
 
Hamby adds that Discovery also is working to generate relatively budget-priced, truncated Blu-ray sets, featuring five or six episodes. Meerkat Manor should be rolled out in that fashion.

“We’ve done that for Meerkat Manor and L.A. Ink [for standard DVD for less than $20]. We tried to think about a price point to get good placement for Wal-Mart and others,” said Hamby.

Retailers believe that studios are wise to focus on pricing when choosing which TV shows to launch on Blu-ray.

Warner’s Sarah Connor is a clear Blu-ray winner for Newbury Comics, mostly due to its attractive $39.99 pricing, just $10 above its standard DVD price. Of the 75 Sarah Connor copies the 28-store chain has sold so far, 40 have been Blu-ray. On average, only 10% of a current TV DVD title’s sales are Blu-ray at Newbury.

“The cost on Blu-ray wasn’t that much higher than standard DVD,” Newbury buyer Ian Leshin said. “That makes it more appealing.”