Blu-ray Disc sales rise by 300%

Latest figures for disc sales in the US show that, despite testing economical times, the home entertainment industry is holding steady.

While the first six months of the year saw a slight 0.5 per cent decline in disc sales (to $6.17 billion) there was a 0.5 per cent rise in rentals (up to $3.97 billion) which buoyed the market at $10.1 billion (£5 billion). This is the same as last year's figures.

Big Blu-ray rises

The home entertainment sector on a whole may have remained flat, but Blu-ray disc sales were raised significantly to $200 million ($100 million) a lift of 300 per cent.

Speaking about the results, Lori MacPherson, general manager for Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, North America. Said: "I think people are becoming pickier on what they spend their money on, but home entertainment always represents a good value.

"Thirty dollars for a Blu-ray movie that you can watch over and over again is still a great value."

Blu-ray's increase isn't eating into the DVD maket, however, with DVD sales remaining strong.

This is backed up by the thoughts of David Bishop, president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment: "I just got off of a trip where I visited every major retail store, and by and large, the Blu-ray sections are additive to the entire department. So there is no cannibalisation on standard DVD in the process."

Blu horizons

Sony is looking to push the sale of its Blu-ray machines as well, and may link this into the growth of the Blu-ray Disc market. "We want to ensure that if you buy a Blu-ray-dedicated machine, that you come out with movies too," said Bishop. "It might be that you buy the player and get a discount on [Sony] movies."