Entertainment executives are envisioning a transition coming in the near future, in which consumers convert all of their DVDs to digital files that are stored in a virtual “cloud”—and that can be viewed on any device you want. What are you going to do with all that extra shelf space now occupied by DVDs?
A new entertainment industry report focuses on how consumers spent more on Blu-ray discs and players during the first half of 2011. But it can’t hide that overall DVD purchases were down 18.3%, at the same time that spending was up 40% to 45% on subscription services such as Netflix and kiosk DVD rentals like [...]
The marketplace seems to be saying absolutely not. A couple years ago, Blu-ray players cost like $1,000. Until very recently, Blu-ray DVDs cost $40 and up. But after pathetic sales trickled in, Blu-ray players have been knocked down to under $100, and new DVDs go for under $10.
There’s a lot of grumbling among consumers and media types that cable TV is not only overpriced, but that it should be free—and what with the growing number of free alternatives on the web, it might have no choice but to be free.
