Blu-ray sales more than double while DVD slips
updated 03:40 pm EST, Fri December 4, 2009
Blu-ray rescues discs Thanksgiving weekend
Blu-ray sales may have encountered a turning point on Thanksgiving weekend by saving a declining DVD market, based on results published today. Home Media Research notes that the HD format more than doubled its revenue in the US that period, climbing 224.04 percent to reach $69.06 million. At the same time, DVD sales actually declined during the normally very active period, dropping 7.89 percent to a still high $491.1 million.
While exact units weren't recorded, the study made clear that revenue from the entire field grew 1.02 percent, to $560.15 million, at the same time.
The contrasting results point to Blu-ray finally getting significant traction in a market that has proven difficult even in the nearly two years since it became the sole HD movie disc format in US stores. It has been helped by rapidly falling Blu-ray movie player prices that during Black Friday promos saw some readers fall below $100. A long-anticipated price drop on the PS3 to $299 has also helped drive growth.
