Still Room for Physical Media, SDS Head Says
Despite a 30%-plus jump in video streaming in 2020 as consumers ratcheted up viewing during stay-at-home orders, there’s a large revenue opportunity in transactional video, Studio Distribution Services President Eddie Cunningham told a virtual Digital Entertainment Group Expo Wednesday. “Of…
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course there’s room for physical still at the table,” said Cunningham, acknowledging that the segment won't drive growth for the entertainment industry over the next 10 years. Studios will follow the consumer and “get content out in front of eyeballs in terms of how consumers want to consume that,” said the executive. Attention to electronic sell-though, subscription VOD, ad-based VOD and premium VOD is understandable, given growth in streaming, and physical is a “huge, important part of the mix," he said. Physical video disc sales were $7 billion globally in 2020, Cunningham said. “It’s still going to be important to the industry for a long time.” The SDS 10-year joint venture was announced last year to distribute discs for new releases, library titles and TV shows, along with marketing initiatives, in the U.S. and Canada. The JV of Universal Pictures and Warner Media launches early next month.