This report analyses the changing release strategies for retail DVD in the USA and the key European markets of UK, Germany and Spain. Employing data on the top 50 titles by box office in each territory, the report examines the effect of the closure of the European rental-only window, and quantifies the much-debated squeezing of the theatrical-to-DVD retail window between 2002 and H1 2005.
Drawing together detailed analyses these major titles in each territory, split by distributor, genre, and theatrical success, the report considers the growing standardization of DVD windows in Europe and the US. In addition, the market profiles include an evaluation of the staggering of international against US releases for each European territory, for both theatrical and DVD.
The report also weighs the relative significance of distributor strategy and retail seasonality on release patterns, illustrating the aggregated data with a series of case studies, examining selected major titles in detail.
Key findings include –
- Average windows have shrunk in Europe by almost one third between H1 2002 and H1 2005.
- As a result, an average window in the UK of more than 7 months in 2002 has fallen to around 4.5 half months by H1 2005; in Spain, windows are more than 2.5 months shorter; and in Germany, windows have shrunk by almost 2 months since the beginning of 2002
- Release patterns in European territories have been brought closer into line with US strategies, which, in combination with the abolition of a protected rental window, has eroded regional differences.
- At the same time, the different approaches used by the key distributors have also converged, resulting in an ever more standardised release window.
- Retail seasonality has a profound effect on windows, and both the high spending Christmas period and the quiet summer months can stretch and squeeze windows.
- The extent of the staggering of US and international releases has also declined over the analysis period, in response to the challenges of piracy and an international audience with ever greater access to information via the Internet
- The time-lag between US and European theatrical releases has shrunk by around three weeks since 2002. Over the same period, DVD staggering has declined by around one month – a fall of around 50 per cent.
|
