OPINION: Blu stock
By Paul Sweeting -- Video Business, 10/10/2008
OCT. 10 | WITH GLOBAL STOCK MARKETS cratering and credit markets freezing, the U.S. and much of the rest of the world appears on the brink—if not already in the midst—of a serious economic recession.
Paul Sweeting is editor of Content Agenda
More than $10 trillion in wealth has been wiped out in the past month in the U.S. alone, as housing values plummet, along with the value of equities in retirement investment accounts.
Consumer spending has already fallen off sharply, according to some major retailers.
Given the bleak outlook, what is it reasonable to expect for the Blu-ray Disc format this holiday season, given its relatively high sticker price and continued high consumer satisfaction with DVD, the format it seeks to replace?
Surprisingly, analysts remain relatively bullish on the format, although many of their forecasts were probably developed months ago, when consumer spending looked more robust.
The latest forecast comes from Parks Associates, which sees an eightfold jump in set-top Blu-ray player sales by 2012.
Last month, DisplaySearch forecast sales of 2.4 million set-top Blu-ray players worldwide this year, up from 700,000 last year and growing to 5.3 million in 2009.
Read the full column on ContentAgenda.com.
