Posted Tue Sep 1, 2009 at 10:00 AM PDT by Mike Attebery
Encouraged by increasing sales, many retailers are calling for a further reduction in Blu-ray prices.
Newly released Blu-ray discs cost an average of 12 percent less than they did a year ago according to Rentrak data. More excitingly, pricing on older “catalog” titles has dropped 33% to an average of $17.23. With prices down and profits up, retailers are encouraged and asking for more.
Steve Torr of InMotion Entertainment loves the new trend, but suggests that it might not be moving fast enough. “I’m of the opinion that Blu-ray pricing needs to go down faster,” he says. “I think a Blu-ray title should be $2 to $3 more than a DVD. The film buffs get it, but the everyday consumer just isn’t seeing the value in Blu-ray yet.”
According to Torr, online retailers only see catalog titles move when they are discounted significantly. He believes that a cut in the price of catalog titles would make those sales steadier, rather than coming only when the title is on sale.
An unidentified studio source told Video Business that “There is an overall industry attitude to pull the gap together between standard-def and Blu-ray catalog… everyone is trying to make it a little bit easier on the consumer. We want Blu-ray growth.”
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