Published:
01-Jul-09
Warner is to reduce the US suggested retail price (SRP) of 28 forthcoming catalogue BD releases, including
Snakes On a Plane,
Catwoman and
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, to $29.99, around $5 lower than that currently observed by other studios in the US. The Warner releases are already being offered at a pre-release prices of around $20 by internet retailers such as Amazon.com. The BD price reductions follows a studio-supported price drop on Warner's new release DVDs titles
He's Just Not That Into You and
Gran Torino in US retailers Target and Best Buy. Local reports indicate that the studio made a rebate of $5 per unit available to the retailers enabling them to sell the titles for as little as $10 in the week following their release.
Our take...
Warner, which was instrumental in reducing early DVD trade pricing, has already instigated significant price reductions on BD in 2008. This change to the studio's pricing structure differentiates between new and catalogue release product on BD, but falls short of the three tier pricing strategy introduced for DVD in late 1998 which effectively introduced impulse-buy DVDs, with title available for as little as $9.95. Previous Screen Digest research has indicated that lower prices do not necessarily increase consumer spending on buying video while current analysis shows that BD is unlikely to drive total video volume, meaning that unless the format retains its premium pricing, the current declines in video spending are unlikely to be halted. Warner's new BD pricing strategy - while designed to encourage consumer sales - may reflect a more cautious approach to pricing this time round than that which it adopted a decade ago.
USA,
