Electronic Sell-Through Climbs in the Third Quarter, But Overall Consumer Spending Remained Flat
The home entertainment sector saw continued stability in the third quarter of 2013, with total consumer spending flat compared to the same period last year.
Industry sales were bolstered by a jump in electronic sell- through (EST) revenue in the third quarter, underscoring the extent with which consumers are now embracing the convenience and ease of viewing digital collections as well as the increased retail availability of digital content.
According to DEG’s Third Quarter 2013 Home Entertainment report:
- Digital distribution gained additional momentumin the third quarter with a 46 percent jump in EST consumer spending compared to the same period last year. Total consumer spending on all digital products is now up 24 percent versus a year ago
- Blu-ray Disc sales were downin the third quarter,but remainup seven percent year-to-date. The 2013 third quarter presented especially tough comparisons to the year-earlier quarter, which saw the release of two major Blu-ray Disc box sets-the best-selling "Bond 50: The Complete 22 Film Collection" and "Indiana Jones: TheCompleteAdventures."
- The number of Blu-ray homes continued to rise, with 1.6million Blu-ray Disc players (inclusive of BD set-tops, PS3s and HTiBs,) sold in the third quarter, bringing the total household penetration of all Blu-ray compatible devices to more than62.3million U.S.homes.
- More than 7.2million HDTVs were sold to U.S. consumers in the third quarter; HDTV penetration to date exceeds 102million U.S. households.
- The accessibility of UltraViolet movies and TV shows to consumers continues to expand. As of the third quarter, more than11,000 UltraViolet-enabled movies and TV shows were available from10 major content providers and 13 retailers, including four U.S. retailers: Barnes & Noble (NOOK), Best Buy (CinemaNow), Target (Target Ticket) and Walmart (VUDU). UltraViolet is now available in theU.S., Canada, UK, Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, and Switzerland.
- The box office value of home entertainment titles in the third quarter was down 6.4percent.
