Annual Snapshot of US Home Video

The US home video sector enjoyed record-breaking rental and sales revenues in 2001. This is according to the latest annual report on the home entertainment industry from the Video Software Dealers' Association (VSDA).

The report details how the American home video industry experienced its best year ever in 2001. It is believed that it took in excess of $18 billion during the 12 months. Home video consumers spent $7 billion renting VHS tapes and an all-time-high $1.4 billion renting DVDs. Consumers spent an additional $5.4 billion purchasing DVDs and $4.9 billion purchasing VHS tapes.

The research also shows that US DVD hardware penetration rose to one-quarter of all U.S. television households. This is expected to climb ten percentage points to 35 percent by the end of this year. New video game platforms from Microsoft (Xbox) and Nintendo (GameBoy and portable Game Boy Advance) spurred competition among the game publishers and, in turn, $6.9 billion in platform, accessory and software sales.

The new data represents part of the VSDA's sixth consecutive Annual Report on the Home Entertainment Industry. The 2002 report is a year-end recap of 2001 and includes a view-from-the-top analysis of the rapidly changing landscape of home entertainment. The report also includes data on video game rental and sales data, hardware penetration rates, video retailer information, video control and piracy issues, the effects of the peer-to-peer networks on music sales, and the future of Internet
video-on-demand.

The VSDA president Bo Andersen commented, 'Home video is in an enviable position. It is a $19 billion/year industry and growing. It enjoys a 95 percent hardware saturation of consumer households, new DVD technologies are reinvigorating the market, exciting new video products are released every week, video rental and retail outlets are good neighbourhoods in virtually every community in America, and a competitive retail market drives innovation and customer service.'

Andersen concluded, 'Renting and buying movies on VHS and DVD are still the movie delivery options most preferred by consumers, and the value-for-the-dollar equation for rental and ownership will maintain these strong preferences.'

All articles 2006-22 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.