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Media
Information > Media DVD Coverage 
Archive
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| Updated March 27, 2005 DVD
NEWS DIGEST
The value of DVD sales and rental markets in the five major European markets was about $9.3bn during 2004, and the analyst predicts this will grow to nearly $17bn in 2009. In-Stat market research firm noted that consumers in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain are migrating from traditional analog broadcasting to digital pay-TV services, but predicts that free-to-air digital terrestrial services will show the strongest growth rates. The number of households receiving digital terrestrial services in these markets is expected to jump from 4.9 million in 2004 to 23.7 million in 2009. In-Stat estimates that digital terrestrial will grow from about 4.1 per cent of TV households during 2004 to nearly 20 per cent by 2009.
Piracy in places like China, Russia and Mexico has prevented Hollywood studios and major record labels from tapping the full growth potential of those tantalizing markets. Now, some media companies are trying to reverse the tide by cutting prices on legitimate DVDs and CDs low enough to challenge the pirates at their own game. The idea is to give consumers in those markets a cheap, legal alternative to pirated material. One major producer is selling its DVD movie releases at between $2 and $4 per disc. Another producer is planning a similar program in Russia and the four global music companies have just launched a similar strategy in Mexico. Entertainment companies are pushing for much tougher law enforcement overseas. But in the meantime, selling cheaper DVDs is a bid "to create a more compelling value proposition, so that the good behavior drives out the bad," says a production company executive. One producer plans to release more than 125 movies this year in China, and sell discs at two price points: $2.65 for relatively basic discs, with English and Mandarin dialogue tracks, and $3.38 for fancier versions with extra footage and language enhancements. Feb. 26 - Reuters: China Destroys Fake DVDs China launched a massive crackdown on pirated goods, destroying tens of thousands of fake discs and publications and enlisting celebrities' to promote intellectual property rights. Truckloads of confiscated DVDs, CDs and books were and dumped onto a red carpet at a north Beijing construction site. About two dozen workers and Chinese officials shoved handfuls into a giant shredder in front of a banner that read: "Push forward social development." "We do not deserve to host the (2008 Summer) Olympics if we cannot eliminate piracy in China, especially in Beijing," Feng Xiaogang, a veteran Chinese director and proponent of copyright protection, said at a symposium held after the ceremony. The United States and other foreign governments have been pressuring China to stop rampant product piracy and enforce intellectual property rights as part of its obligations as a member of the World Trade Organization. March 1 - AP: Legislator Seeks Tougher DVD Laws for Vehicles A legislator in Alaska wants to toughen the laws regulating vehicle DVD players. Rep. Max Gruenberg Jr., D-Anchorage, said he decided to file a bill after several mutual friends of the Weisers approached him. Gruenberg wants to make it illegal to drive while watching a television or video monitor, and to ban installing a video device that can be seen by the driver while the vehicle is moving. Watching while driving would be a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine between $2,500 and $10,000 under the measure. That would be bumped up to a felony if a person is injured or dies as a result of a crash. The popularity of dashboard and rear-seat DVD players is exploding. Last year, 3.4 million vehicle DVD players were shipped globally and 28 major automobile brands now offer DVD entertainment system options, according to the Telematics Research Group. By 2010, that number will jump to 9.2 million, or roughly one out of every six cars sold in a year, according to a research firm. DVD players installed in the center console of a car's dashboard, when properly installed, can only be operated while a vehicle is in park. If the car is in motion, it shouldn't be able to play. But installers can and do bypass those safety features to enable the player to run whether the car is parked or not. Gruenberg said that's the kind of behavior he wants to prevent with his proposal.
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