CE Sellthrough Spending Up 35 Percent in 2012, DEG Says
LAS VEGAS -- The Digital Entertainment Group announced an UltraViolet “starter pack,” a cross-promotional effort backed by DEG, retailers and CE manufacturers that will launch later this year. Calling it the “first digital cross-promotional effort of its kind,” DEG said consumers who buy an eligible connected TV or Blu-ray player will score free UltraViolet-enabled titles from Lionsgate, Paramount Home Media Distribution, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Entertainment or Warner Bros., DEG said. It wasn’t clear whether consumers could secure titles from a mix of studios or had to choose all of the free titles from the same studio.
Consumers buying eligible Blu-ray players will receive redemption codes for five UltraViolet-enabled titles, and buyers of eligible TVs will receive redemption codes for 10 UltraViolet-enabled titles, DEG said. CE companies participating in the promotion include LG, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sony, Toshiba and Vizio, DEG said. Participating service providers include CinemaNow, Flixster, Nook Video and Vudu, it said.
DEG also said Tuesday that total consumer spending on home entertainment topped $18 billion for 2012, with growth coming from Blu-ray, electronic sell-through (EST) and video on demand (VOD). DEG said UltraViolet has achieved “significant milestones” in industry and consumer adoption and is “rapidly becoming an integral part” of the home entertainment picture. Blu-ray disc spending grew 10 percent for the year on a 25 percent increase in the number of Blu-ray catalog titles, DEG said.
In EST, consumer spending rose 35 percent compared to 2011, DEG said. Total digital distribution spending -- EST and VOD combined -- increased 28 percent for the period and now comprises almost 30 percent of the domestic home video market, up from 19 percent from 2011, it said.
More than nine million UltraViolet accounts have been created, more than double the number as of June 2012, and more than 8,500 UltraViolet-enabled titles are now available from Anchor Bay Entertainment, BBC, DreamWorks Animation, Lionsgate, Paramount Home Media Distribution, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Entertainment and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. DEG didn’t say how many of the consumer UltraViolet accounts were active or how many UltraViolet titles consumers own on average.
The number of Blu-ray homes in the U.S. climbed 7 percent in 2012, including Blu-ray set-tops, PS3s and home-theater-in-a box systems, DEG said. Total U.S. household penetration of Blu-ray-compatible devices is 51 million U.S. homes, it said. Consumers bought more than 39 million HDTVs in 2012, bringing HDTV penetration to 108.4 million U.S. households, it said.