DEG (Digital Entertainment Group)
announced today at
the International Consumer Electronics Show that for the second consecutive
year, DVD sales have helped make home video America"s most popular entertainment
medium. Last year the American consumers spent US$ 22.5 billion renting and
buying DVD and VHS versus US$ 9.2 billion moviegoers spent at the theatrical box
office.
year with DVD representing 72 percent of all home video transactions. DVD retail sales grew to $ 11.6 billion in calendar 2003, an increase of 33 percent over last year. Consumers also spent $ 4.5 billion renting DVDs, up 55 percent from 2002. The fourth quarter was particularly strong for DVD with more than 381 million DVD titles shipped to retail according to figures compiled by Kaplan, Swicker and Simha on behalf of the DEG. This is a 43 percent increase over the fourth quarter 2002. More than one billion software units were shipped in 2003 bringing the total number of units shipped since launch to nearly 2.4 billion discs. "With sales of both hardware and software reaching new record levels, the DVD format has emerged as the dominant format in the home entertainment industry said Bob Chapek, president of Buena Vista Home Entertainment and president of DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group. "We should all look ahead with unbridled enthusiasm as the growth of this format grows further into the mass market which will prove to open even more doors for this industry." Nemo (Buena Vista Home Entertainment) topped the year's DVD sales followed by numerous DVDs that broke sales records in 2003, selling in excess of five million copies. |
The article adds that there
are currently more than 4,000 DVD Music Video and DVD-Audio titles available.
According to figures compiled by the DEG based on data from the Consumer
Electronics Association (CEA), retailers and manufacturers, nearly 34 million
DVD players were sold to U.S. consumers in 2003, a 34 percent increase over
2002.
Source: Mi2N
