DVD RENTALS ROCKET UP 2002 HOME-VIDEO REVENUES TOP $2 BILLION.Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer DVD DVD: see digital versatile disc. DVD in full digital video disc or digital versatile disc Type of optical disc. The DVD represents the second generation of compact-disc (CD) technology. rental revenues have already passed the $2 billion mark in 2002, nearly doubling the rental total for all of last year, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. figures released Friday by the Video Software Dealers Association. The milestone was reached even before the DVD industry enters what is expected to be a record fourth quarter when virtually all of last summer's blockbusters will be released on DVD including ``Spider-Man'' and ``Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones.'' The VSDA VSDA Video Software Dealers Association said DVD rental revenues were at $2.03 billion as of Sept. 29, while an additional $4.12 billion had been generated by VHS (Video Home System) A half-inch, analog videocassette recorder (VCR) format introduced by JVC in 1976 to compete with Sony's Betamax, introduced a year earlier. rentals so far in 2002. ``DVDs continue to contribute significantly to the video-rental market and show unprecedented growth in an otherwise sluggish economy Sluggish Economy A state in the economy in which the growth is slow, flat or declining. The term can refer to the economy as a whole or a component of the economy, such as weak housing starts. ,'' said Bo Andersen, president of the VSDA. DVDs accounted for 37 percent of all video-rental revenues in the third quarter. Year to date, DVDs' share of the home-video rental market now stands at 33 percent - up 18 percentage points from the same period last year. Fueling these robust figures were such major DVD hits as ``Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,'' ``The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'' and ``Training Day.'' In comparison, DVDs' share of the video-rental market was just 17 percent in 2001, when total DVD rental revenues were $1.4 billion. The growth is further magnified when compared with 2000, when DVD rentals were $569 million and accounted for only 7 percent of home-video rentals. Brad Hackley, VSDA director of research, said Friday that more than 30 percent of all U.S. television households now have a DVD player A stand-alone device that plays DVDs. It contains a DVD drive and the electronics to decode the digital video. The device may play only manufactured DVDs, or it may be able to play DVD-R, DVD-RW and DVD+RW discs. DVD players are cabled to a TV or home theater system for display. and that the DVD rental market is beginning to reflect that penetration rate. Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, ``significant opportunities exist for the remaining untapped consumer DVD market,'' Hackley said. ``With more than 60 percent of U.S. households yet to purchase a DVD player, coupled with the fact that last summer's colossal box office slate is moving into home video during the holiday season, the fourth quarter promises growth for both the rental and sell-through markets.'' The major studios are cashing in on the DVD craze by speeding up the home-video release of their summer blockbusters and Andersen noted that 14 of the fourth-quarter home-video releases each have grossed more than $100 million at the domestic box office. Universal released ``The Scorpion scorpion, any arachnid of the order Scorpionida with a hollow poisonous stinger at the tip of the tail. Scorpions vary from about 1/2 in. to about 6 in. (1–15 cm) long; most are from 1 to 3 in. (2.5–7.6 cm) long. King'' this week and still to come are such box office heavy-hitters as ``Spider-Man,'' ``Attack of the Clones,'' ``Men in Black II,'' ``Austin Powers in Goldmember'' and ``Scooby-Doo.'' Disney's ``Monsters, Inc.'' enjoyed record first-day and first-week DVD sales when it bowed in stores last month and also topped rental charts. Other successful family films expected to enjoy big sales include a pair of Disney titles: ``Beauty and the Beast'' and ``Lilo 1. (operating system) lilo - Linux Loader. 2. lilo - first-in first-out. & Stitch.'' Competing with those films will be ``Ice Age,'' ``Spirit: Stallion stallion 1. an entire male horse aged 4 years and over. 2. in UK, applied to a male donkey (jack). stallion ring see stallion ring. teaser stallion stallion used to detect those mares which are in estrus. of the Cimmaron'' and ``Stuart Little 2.'' Nostalgia is also having an effect, with the DVD version of the musical ``Grease'' making a big splash Big Splash could refer to:
Overall, the year's DVD-rental revenues are on track to be more than $1 billion above last year's $1.4 billion and to account for close to 40 percent of the total video-rental market for the year. While year-end VHS-rental revenues are expected to fall short of last year's $7 billion mark, Hackley cautioned against dismissing the importance of the VHS market. ``VHS remains the dominant rental format, and there are approximately 60 million homes that have a VCR VCR: see videocassette recorder. VCR in full videocassette recorder Electromechanical device that records, stores on a videotape cassette, and plays back on a TV set recorded images and sound. but no DVD player,'' he said. ``As a result, demand for VHS rentals will continue.'' |
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