US DVD & Blu-ray sales fell 18% Y-o-Y in H1 2011

"According to details just released by the studio-backed Digital Entertainment Group (DEG), DVDs and Blu-ray discs dropped an elephantine 18.3 percent during the first half of this year.  Overall, first-half physical sales reached $3.9 billion.
That is the total for 'packaged goods,' though Blu-rays actually inched upward 10 percent.  Which means, DVDs are positively hemorrhaging as consumers increasingly shift towards Netflix, VOD, and kiosk rentals.  In fact, this is the first period in which newer formats outsold physical formats, an inflection point with an extremely bittersweet asterisk."

Source:  Data from DEG, reported by Digital Music News, 7th August 2011

Home entertainment spending in the US fell by 10% Y-o-Y in Q1 2011

"Consumer purchases of newly released DVDs fell precipitously in the first three months of the year -- declines that were not made up by gains in sales of Blu-ray discs or emerging streaming services.
Digital Entertainment Group reported Monday that overall spending on home entertainment fell to $4.2 billion, down 9.8% from the same period a year earlier. Hardest hit were new-movie purchases, which fell 19% for the first quarter compared with a year ago, when four major blockbuster films were released on DVD and Blu-ray disc.
Physical and digital sales amounted to $2.2 billion for the period, off markedly from $2.7 billion a year ago. Blu-ray disc purchases were up 10% from a year ago, but these sales were not enough to make up for falling DVD sales.
The movie-rental market -- which includes not only traditional chain stores, but also streaming services such as Netflix Inc. and kiosk services such as Redbox -- made modest gains for the quarter. Total consumer spending on home movie rentals rose 2.5% to nearly $2 billion. Big gains in physical and digital subscription services offset declines at retail stores."

Source:  Data from the Digital Entertainment Group, reported by the Los Angeles Times, 2nd May 2011

60% of eBook reader owners cite online connectivity as their favourite feature of the device

"60% of e-reader owners cite it as their favorite feature
49% of smartphone owners indicate high-speed internet as a motivating purchase factor
38% of all Blu-ray owners indicate internet connectivity is important or very important feature"
Source:  The Connected Experience: Building a Bridge Between Devices & Content, NPD, September 2010

Blu-ray sales rose 70% Y-o-Y in the UK in Q1 2010

"New sales figures released today by the British Video Association using data from the Official Charts Company reveal healthy year on year growth for the home entertainment market based on data for the first quarter of 2010.
New release titles performed especially well in the first quarter of the year, with volumes up 10.3% on the same period last year, with a 31% increase in March. This is especially significant given the achievement of Quantum of Solace (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) last March, which sold 1.2 million units. The healthy increase was also due in part to Easter falling a week earlier than in 2009.
Growth in Q1 was particularly seen in the music genre (up 42% against last year), driven by Michael Jackson’s This Is It (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment), and in children’s titles (up 38%) due to strong sales of Up (Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment).
The figures also reflect the increasingly popularity of the Blu-ray format, which is currently driving growth across the home entertainment market. Sales of Blu-ray are up 69.5% (up 50% in value) on the same period in 2009, reaching 2.7m units in the first three months of the year, taking the total number of Blu-ray Discs sold to 15.6m units since launch."
Source: Press Release from the British Video Association, 16th April 2010