Updated November 4, 2007

DVD NEWS DIGEST
(October 11, 2007)

Oct. 20 issue - Billboard: Top 10 DVD Sellers in US

1 - Knocked Up Universal Studios Home Video
2 - Next Paramount Home Entertainment
3 - We Are Marshall Warner Home Video
4 - Barbie As The Island Princess
5 - Family Guy: Volume 5 20th Century Fox
6 - Death Proof The Weinstein Company
7 - Bug Lionsgate Home Entertainment
8 - Superman: Doomsday DC Comics Inc.
9 - The Condemned WWE Home Video
10 - 300 Warner Home Video

Wall Street Journal: Movie DVDs Sold At Kiosks Get a Boost

A change in copy-protection rules governing DVDs is likely to quickly unlock a new market for selling movie discs via kiosks, where digital copies can be burned onto blank DVDs on the spot.

Retailers have been hoping to roll out such operations, giving instant access to thousands of movie titles that otherwise might be impractical to stock. But such plans have been tripped up by restrictive copy-protection guidelines. Some "on demand" burning is currently available, but it mostly involves independent titles.

The DVD Copy Control Association -- a consortium including movie studios and hardware makers that oversees the copy protection system known as Content Scramble System, or CSS -- says it will allow its technology to be licensed more broadly. That opens the doors for DVD-burning kiosks.

For studios, embracing the kiosks allows them to tap into their back catalog without having to produce and physically store DVDs.

ABC News [ Australia ]: Film industry fights back with anti-piracy campaign

The Australian film and video industry is about to launch a concerted campaign arguing that copyright piracy is not a victimless crime and is costing the industry about $A250 million per year.

New technologies - from the internet to camcorders to DVD burners - are making it easier to get films, television programs, music and games into homes across the globe at stunning speed, through legal and illegal means.

Glenn Preusker, investor in the movie Kenny, says the pirate DVD was offered not long after the movie's release. "I was really angry when he came in because I've put a whole lot of money and time, as well as [creators] Clayton and Shane Jacobson have put their careers on the line with this movie," he said.

New York Times: Television Series DVDs Selling Well

Although DVD sales are down this year, television series on disc have fared better than other categories. Sales of complete seasons are a rare bright spot, registering actual growth. Some shows have each sold more than $300 million in DVDs.

Those numbers are not staggering, and expectations for the format are limited by the growing number of alternatives, like Internet downloads to streaming video. Even so, the enduring appeal of the DVD and its ability to get time-pressed consumers hooked on shows are giving network executives renewed faith in the format and prompting some experimentation.

The chief marketing officer of a major distributor said that DVDs are not necessarily expected to generate profit for the network, but are considered valuable because of their power to turn casual viewers into loyal ones. Nostalgia clearly drives a lot of DVD sales.

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