2008 BD Player Sales Grew 1,317% in Europe

"Credit crunch or no credit crunch, in Europe we have just experienced a spectacular final quarter to 2008 with Blu-ray Disc demonstrating its appeal to consumers of all nationalities, types and ages," so said Niels Leibbrandt from the Blu-ray Disc Association European Promotions Committee.

Leibbrandt’s comments are justified by news that in the year to end of November 2008 Blu-ray Disc player sales experienced growth of 1317 per cent in Europe (source GfK, data excludes PLAYSTATION 3 sales, Norway and Business-to- Business sales).

At the same time, GfK data reveals that European Blu-ray Disc movie sales exceeded 8.1 million in 2008, representing 304 per cent growth compared to the previous year.

Examination of sales performance in some key European markets shows that Blu-ray’s growth in popularity is a pan-European trend. In Germany, more than 1.6 million Blu-ray Disc movies were sold last year with a marked increase in sales during the period from October to December.

In France, Blu-ray Disc movie sales topped 1.7 million and represented a 410% increase on the previous year. Of this total, some 47% of sales were made during the fourth quarter of 2008.

In Italy, Blu-ray Disc’s market share by value increased from 1.5% in Week 51 of 2007 to 5.2% in Week 51 of 2008.

The strongest market performance in 2008 was registered in the UK where Blu-ray disc sales hit a new high in the run-up to Christmas: 1.5 million discs were sold in December alone, up almost 400% against the same period in 2007. In total the format has sold 3.7 million units in
the UK during 2008, demonstrating the public’s enthusiasm for high quality picture and sound in the home.

Dark Knight (Warner Home Video) has taken the crown for best selling Blu-ray title of the year with 281,000 copies sold (including sales of the box set with Batman Begins) on the High Definition format in just three weeks. Released in early December it became the best-selling Blu-ray title in history, selling more copies on Blu-ray in its first full week (178,000 copies including Batman Begins box-set) in the shops than any other movie ever released on the format.

Looking forward to 2009, media analyst Screen Digest predicts UK Blu-ray Disc sales will rise to 17 million units over the next 12 months, accounting seven per cent of the total disc market whilst DVD will remain popular with 241 million discs being bought by the British Public.

Helen Davis Jayalath, Head of Video at Screen Digest, adds: "DVD volume sales outpaced those of 2007 for much of the year in spite of the impending recession; even when faced with major supply chain issues in December, consumers simply bought the titles they wanted elsewhere. Although the economic climate means that Blu-ray will now take longer to achieve mass market status, demand is building for the Hi-Def discs. Meanwhile, the key challenges facing the industry in 2009 are managing the financial and inventory fallout from the loss of EUK at the same time as promoting video as an attractive and affordable entertainment option for cash-strapped consumers."