RE: Execs Say DVD Decline Exaggerated

Yesterday Variety posted a panel discussion recap from the Future of Film Summit. The panel was hosted by a group of media execs who reported that physical media declines have been “greatly exaggerated”.  Frankly, their optimism scares me.

While Black Friday weekend’s 220% spike in year over year Blu-ray sales provides a nice morale boost,  it is only temporary.  The $69 million in Blu-ray sales is directly attributed to price reductions in Blu-ray players.  Furthermore, Blu-ray sales come nowhere close to significantly offsetting the continuing decline in DVD sales.

Yes, continued price cuts on Blu-ray players and media will sustain sales for a period of time.  However, the industry needs to realize that the viewer is not the problem, we are the problem.  The film industry needs to take a look in the mirror and stop cannibalizing itself.  Execs need to realize that physical media cannot complete on a basis of price or convenience.

Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes recently spoke about the physical media’s consumption by new distribution channels like movie kiosks and video on demand.  He said, “People will pay for quality and convenience, but it has to be a fair deal.”  I completely agree on an ideological level.  However, the reality is that “fair” is irrelevant.  The fact is that these channels do exist, and they will continue to consume traditional and more profitable physical media sales.  The future of film has to be realized through innovation.