Digital Entertainment Group says more than 3.3 million Blu-ray players
\nwere sold through the first three quarters of 2009.<\/p>\n
Blu-ray sales were up 66.3 percent to $161 million in the third quarter of 2009 and are up 83 percent year-to-date to $568 million, according to the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG)<\/p>\n
More than 3.3 million Blu-ray players have sold through the first three quarters of 2009, an increase of 13 percent over the same period in 2008, according DEG.<\/p>\n
Blu-ray player sales have grown 112 percent through the third quarter, with Blu-ray players, including PlayStation 3, now in 11.7 million households. About 80 percent of Blu-ray devices are BD-Live capable, according to DEG.<\/p>\n
In the first half of 2009, sales of Blu-ray discs rose 91 percent, while Blu-ray hardware sales grew nearly 25 percent and surpassed two million units, according to DEG.<\/p>\n
“We’re enthusiastic about the continued promise of Blu-ray Disc with more entry-level players coming to market and the upcoming strong slate of box office blockbusters,” says Amy Jo Smith, executive director of DEG.<\/p>\n
Consumer Spending Down<\/strong> “We are pleased to see an uptick in the number of consumer transactions, indicating a continuing strong demand for home entertainment product,” says Ron Sanders, president of DEG and Warner Home Video. “We are also encouraged by the dramatic growth of Blu-ray and the increases in digital distribution and rental in the third quarter.”<\/p>\n According to DEG, Blu-ray is now accounting for an average of 12 percent of packaged media sales for theatrical new releases.<\/p>\n
\nOverall consumer spending in the third quarter of 2009 in the pre-recorded entertainment category, which includes DVD, Blu-ray, and digital distribution, was down 3.2 percent to $4 billion compared to the same period in 2008. Digital distribution rose 18 percent to $420 million for the quarter and is up 20 percent year-to-date to $1.4 billion.<\/p>\n