Sony: Blu-Ray Has Hit Price 'Sweet Point'
David Bishop, president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, says that Blu-ray player prices have finally hit the "sweet point" which should generate significant momentum for the high-def disc format.
That's according to an article by Home Media Magazine.
Studies have indicated that consumers have been reluctant to buy Blu-ray players largely because of their relatively high prices. Until recently, an entry-level Blu-ray player was priced at $399, triple the amount of a standard-def DVD player.
However, retailers have slashed the price of some Blu-ray players to under $200 and early holiday sales reports indicate that the move has paid off. The high-def disc player has been dubbed one of the holiday's hottest items.
"As is evidenced by the sell-off of Blu-ray players over Black Friday weekend, I would say we hit the sweet spot regarding price," Bishop told Home Media."Some stores were sold out by 9:30 a.m. (on Black Friday). Clearly, it is a top gift item. There will be more price-point-oriented promotions throughout December and that momentum will continue."
Bishop said the recent Blu-ray release of Hancock sold nearly 300,000 units in the first six days thanks to the Black Friday sales. He added that a strong holiday season for Blu-ray players should trigger an equally strong January for Blu-ray movies.
"The positive in all this is the momentum we are getting from Blu-ray. It is continuing to grow and 200% to 300% year-over-year, and the ratio of Blu-ray and DVD sales continues to rise," he said. "That calls for optimism. For anyone who said that people would just go to digital and skip Blu-ray that has certainly been proven not to be true. Even if you took Blu-ray separately as a revenue stream, it is probably 20 times larger than digital revenue."
The executive also told Home Media Magazine that digital downloads -- movies delivered over the Net directly to the TV -- will not be able to compete with Blu-ray "until you are able to deliver high-quality content to the TV."
http://www.tvpredictions.com/sony120508.htm
