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MESA News – Apr. 3

Studios/Suppliers

OPINION: Recession speeds trends
By Alex Evans – 04/03/2009
Alex Evans is a VP in global strategy consulting firm L.E.K.’s Media & Entertainment practice.
APRIL 3 | The current recession is reshaping consumer spending. In recent years, the personal savings rate reached an all time low of 0%. It is now expected to rebound back to its historical average of approximately 7% or higher as access to consumer credit tightens and consumers are no longer able to rely on capital gains for household wealth formation. More

Studios accelerate price drops on releases
By Susanne Ault – 04/03/2009
APRIL 3 | Temporary price reductions available sooner, to more retailers More

NATO: Window between theatrical, DVD shorter
By Marcy Magiera – 04/03/2009
APRIL 3 | Distributors shrink windows as DVD sales decline More

Nyx to extend Image merger closing date
By Susanne Ault – 04/02/2009
APRIL 2 | Deadline would move from April 6 to April 20 More

Industry reduces DVD’s carbon footprint by 11%
By Susanne Ault – 04/02/2009
APRIL 2 | Exceeds Wal-Mart mandate of 5% by 2013 More

Vivendi will distribute Bible musicals
By Cindy Spielvogel – 04/02/2009
APRIL 2 | David & Goliath to be released first, in August More

News Corp. taps Miller as digital chief
By Dade Hayes of Variety – 04/01/2009
APRIL 1 | FROM VARIETY: Exec named CEO of Digital Media Group More  

Boomerang buys Big Idea and Classic Media
By Cindy Spielvogel – 04/01/2009
APRIL 1 | Casper the Friendly Ghost, VeggieTales under new owner More

Image urban titles go international with BET
By Laurence Lerman – 03/31/2009
MARCH 31 | Network acquired broadcast rights for U.K., Africa More

Disney/ABC deals with YouTube
By Michael Schneider of Variety – 03/31/2009
MARCH 31 | FROM VARIETY: Short-form agreement also involves ESPN More

Kiosks, DVR biggest threats to traditional media revenue
By Jennifer Netherby – 03/30/2009
MARCH 30 | Convergence Consulting report scales back VOD projections More

Twilight year’s best-selling DVD so far
By Marcy Magiera – 03/30/2009
MARCH 30 | Summit movie sold 5.6 million units, including Blu-ray, in first nine days More

 

Retail

Best Buy, Wal-Mart top consumer electronics chains
By Steve Smith of TWICE – 04/02/2009
APRIL 2 | FROM TWICE: Survey says Target in third place More

EMA launches Industry Job Board
By Cheryl Cheng – 04/01/2009
APRIL 1 | Free service focuses on home entertainment industry More

Retailers to shelve Bedtime Stories early
By Susanne Ault – 04/01/2009
APRIL 1 | Wal-Mart, others plan to offer DVD, Blu-ray on Friday More

Fox rental/sales program has rocky start
By Susanne Ault – 04/01/2009
APRIL 1 | Retailers received units of Slumdog Millionaire containing wrong discs More

Blockbuster’s Keyes lobbies for more revenue sharing
By Danny King – 04/01/2009
APRIL 1 | Chain to delay ‘Rock the Block’ rollout More

Borders same-store DVD sales drop 39%
By Danny King – 04/01/2009
APRIL 1 | Bookseller cuts category space for more children’s, cooking books More

Sesame Street celebrates 40 years with DVD collection
By Cheryl Cheng – 04/01/2009
APRIL 1 | Fans can choose favorite clips on Amazon.com More

Blockbuster’s Keyes boosts 2008 pay by 60%
By Danny King – 03/31/2009
MARCH 31 | CEO earned $8.41 million last year, including salary of $750,000 More

TV producers’ DVD backend is dwindling
By Claire Atkinson of Broadcasting & Cable – 03/30/2009
MARCH 30 | FROM B&C: Recession hitting already soft marketplace More

 

High-Def

Snow White Blu-ray bows seven weeks before DVD
By Susanne Ault – 04/03/2009
APRIL 3 | Disney family title streets Oct. 6 on BD and Nov. 24 on DVD More

Samsung Blu-ray HTiBs to start at $549
By Joseph Palenchar of TWICE – 03/31/2009
MARCH 31 | FROM TWICE: Includes industry’s first surround bar with embedded BD player More

Netflix boosts Blu-ray subscription pricing
By Danny King – 03/30/2009
MARCH 30 | Adoption, selection jump in recent months More

 

Technology

RealDVD software gets next court date
By Joseph Palenchar of TWICE – 04/03/2009
APRIL 3 | FROM TWICE: RealNetworks will defend its technology on April 24 More

Studios tease 3D at ShoWest
By Michael Speier – 04/01/2009
APRIL 1 | FROM VARIETY: Disney shows off Up, Beauty re-issue More

DVD viewing still trumps time-shifting, online
By Danny King – 03/31/2009
MARCH 31 | Report: Americans spend 23 minutes a day watching DVDs More

Aliens the talk of ShoWest
By Pamela McClintock of Variety – 03/31/2009
MARCH 31 | FROM VARIETY: Fox’s Gianopulos encourages more 3D screens More

 

VOD/Downloads

OPINION: VOD or DVD
By Paul Sweeting – 04/03/2009
Paul Sweeting is editor of Content Agenda
APRIL 3 | WASHINGTON—Time was, when you went to a cable television convention, you’d hear a lot of talk about DVD, usually from cable operators complaining that they needed a better video-on-demand window, while programmers tried to change the subject. More

China tightens grip on online content
By Clifford Coonan of Variety – 04/02/2009
APRIL 2 | FROM VARIETY: Licenses required for webcasts More

Paid-for media beats ad-supported in downturn
By Danny King – 03/31/2009
MARCH 31 | Report: Apple’s iTunes leads digital-media profit surge More

Netflix eases video-streaming inventory search
By Danny King – 03/31/2009
MARCH 31 | Adds personalization features to subscribers’ pages More

Disney/ABC deals with YouTube
By Michael Schneider of Variety – 03/31/2009
MARCH 31 | FROM VARIETY: Short-form agreement also involves ESPN More

Kiosks, DVR biggest threats to traditional media revenue
By Jennifer Netherby – 03/30/2009
MARCH 30 | Convergence Consulting report scales back VOD projections More

Weinstein puts content on VOD service ZillionTV
By Susanne Ault – 03/30/2009
MARCH 30 | Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Reader will be among available titles More

Made-for-online content still stalled
By Leo Barraclough of Variety – 03/30/2009
MARCH 30 | FROM VARIETY: Business model remains a work in progress More

Paramount, Gaumont set Section
By Cynthia Littleton of Variety – 03/30/2009
MARCH 30 | FROM VARIETY: Digital unit spins interactive Web show More

Disney to partner on Hulu?
By Cynthia Littleton of Variety – 03/30/2009
MARCH 30 | FROM VARIETY: Deal could see company taking equity stake More

 

Videogames

Sony slashes PS2 price to $99.99
By Greg Tarr of TWICE – 03/31/2009
MARCH 31 | FROM TWICE: More than 136 million units sold since console launched in 2000 More

GameFly launches TV ad campaign
By Danny King – 03/30/2009
MARCH 30 | Online retailer highlights the frustration of a ‘bad’ game More