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The top news and charts for week ending March 2, 2007.
Study finds benefit to simultaneous release Blockbuster Q4 income down, revenue up Video top earner at Trans World |
Comic legend Promoting DVD premiere Mosaic, Stan Lee (2nd from r.) made an in-store appearance at New York’s J&R Music World on Feb. 23, with Starz Home Entertainment’s Eric D. Wilkinson (l.) and J&R’s Rob Glatt (2nd from l.), Charlie Bagarozza (c.) and Bob Huber. |
"MAN OF THE YEAR" leads Top DVD Renters Chart "FLUSHED AWAY" leads Top DVD Sellers Chart "THE DEPARTED" leads Top HD DVD Sellers Chart "BABEL" leads Top Blu-ray Sellers Chart |
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Tower inventory going to auction
Great American Group is holding a public auction to sell more than $500,000 worth of Tower Records’ remaining merchandise.
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Video top earner at Trans World
Video, rather than music, accounted for the largest portion of Trans World Entertainment’s sales in the fiscal fourth quarter, a first for the company and one it was quick to hold up as proof of its ongoing improvement.
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Blockbuster in talks to buy Movielink
Blockbuster is in advanced talks to acquire studio-owned movie download site Movielink, a senior studio source confirmed.
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German DVD revenue falls 4%
DVD sales in Germany topped 100 million for the first time in 2006, but revenue fell 4%, prompting Constantin topper Fred Kogel to lash out at distribs for dumping prices and warning that there will be a further slide in 2007.
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NAVD: Blockbuster-TWC pact 'anti-competitive'
The National Assn. of Video Distributors this week vented its frustration over Genius Products’ and The Weinstein Co.’s direct deal with Blockbuster.
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Blockbuster Q4 income down, revenue up
Blockbuster reported lower profit for the fourth quarter of 2006, compared with the same quarter a year earlier. But the news was positive enough for some analysts to congratulate the company, with one suggesting the results called for champagne.
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Oscar increases winner's DVD sales
The day after Sunday’s Academy Awards, Oscar-winning films on DVD were enjoying a sales halo effect. The Last King of Scotland doesn’t street until April 17, but the title jumped 372% in pre-sales over the last 24 hours on Amazon.com.
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Netflix ships 1 billionth DVD rental
Netflix Inc. on Feb. 24 delivered its 1 billionth DVD rental since the company’s 1999 launch, which Netflix said was a symbol of its subscriber growth and customer satisfaction.
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Retailer to sell third high-def format
New Medium Enterprises, marketer of a third high-definition DVD format, has signed PC Rush as the first U.S. retailer to carry its HD Versatile Multilayer Disc (VMD) players.
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Codeblack to expand acquisitions
After a little over a year in operation, Codeblack Entertainment is looking to expand through acquisitions and has hired Angela Northington as VP of acquisitions, development and licensing.
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Vivendi Visual installs new VP of sales
Griffin Gmelich has been named VP of sales at Vivendi Visual Entertainment. In his new role, Gmelich will manage the indie supplier’s national sales force as well as launch strategic initiatives and business alliances.
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Hart Sharp distributing Benigni film
Hart Sharp Video will release Roberto Benigni’s latest film, The Tiger and the Snow, on May 8 in hopes of expanding the film’s reach, as it had an extremely limited U.S. and Canadian theatrical run in December.
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Fox affiliates to sell TV show downloads
Fox affiliates will be able to begin selling TV downloads of Fox TV shows to local viewers as part of a new interactive plan by Fox Broadcasting, Fox Interactive Media and 20th Century Fox Film Corp.
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DreamWorks lifts Viacom earnings
The acquisition of DreamWorks Studios helped Viacom nearly quadruple its fourth-quarter earnings, the company reported Thursday. Viacom earnings grew to $480.8 million in the quarter ended Dec. 31, boosted by the purchase of DreamWorks.
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Paramount launches DVD premiere unit
Paramount Pictures named former Universal Studios exec Louis Feola president of a new production division that will create direct-to-video product based on the Paramount's library films. The area is a growing revenue stream for studios.
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Gagnon to lead worldwide sales at Starz
Ray Gagnon has been promoted to senior VP of worldwide sales for Starz Home Entertainment, which now includes the Anchor Bay Home Entertainment label. In his new expanded role, Gagnon will oversee global sales activities for Starz and its labels, including Anchor Bay and Manga Entertainment.
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Media company stocks fall
Media and entertainment stocks joined the rest of the market in a freefall Tuesday that abruptly halted Wall Street hot streaks for the country’s largest congloms.
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German DVD revenue falls 4%
DVD sales in Germany topped 100 million for the first time in 2006, but revenue fell 4%, prompting Constantin topper Fred Kogel to lash out at distribs for dumping prices and warning that there will be a further slide in 2007.
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DreamWorks Animation still in red for Q4
Strong DVD sales of Over the Hedge weren’t enough to keep DreamWorks Animation out of the red during the company’s fourth quarter. DreamWorks blamed the disappointing theatrical performance of Flushed Away for a $21.3 million loss for the quarter ended Dec. 31, down from net income of $63.2 million the previous year.
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Study finds benefit to simultaneous release
Releasing a movie simultaneously in theaters and on DVD could boost studio revenue, according to a new study by a group of international researchers.
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Departed, Scorsese top Oscars
A violent streak impressed Oscar on Sunday night as The Departed snatched the best pic trophy and won Martin Scorsese his first Oscar.
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Fox affiliates to sell TV show downloads
Fox affiliates will be able to begin selling TV downloads of Fox TV shows to local viewers as part of a new interactive plan by Fox Broadcasting, Fox Interactive Media and 20th Century Fox Film Corp.
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Blockbuster in talks to buy Movielink
Blockbuster is in advanced talks to acquire studio-owned movie download site Movielink, a senior studio source confirmed.
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ITunes open to indie producers
ITunes has cracked open to independent video producers for the first time. Apple’s digital content store on Tuesday started selling That, a snowboarding action pic made for DVD by Forum Snowboards.
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Download site launches with indie films
Web start-up HungryFlix, www.hungryflix.com, has launched a beta site offering independent movie downloads for the Sony PlayStation Portable and Apple iPod.
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Video site Peer Impact sold to Roo
Internet video distributor Roo Group has acquired peer-to-peer site Wurld Media in a $10 million cash and stock deal that will allow Roo to add P2P distribution and social networking. 20th Century Fox, Warner and Universal all offer library films and TV shows on Wurld's Peer Impact site for rental in the pay-per-view window.
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BitTorrent movie download service launches
One of the biggest names in online piracy, BitTorrent, launched its long-awaited legal movie download service today with 5,000 films, TV shows, videogames and music videos from five major studios. The site, which claims more than 65 million users worldwide, got its start as a Web hub of movie piracy due to its “file-swarming” file-sharing technology that makes it easy to transfer large files over the Internet quickly.
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Apple TV delayed until mid-March
Apple pushed back the February launch of Apple TV to mid-March, the company said Monday. Apple TV will connect the computer to the TV, allowing users to play iTunes movies, TV shows or music on a TV set.
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Sony to deliver cheaper Blu-ray player
By this summer, Sony will street a second and cheaper Blu-ray player than its fall 2006 debut model, and the newer player will have enhanced capabilities than Sony's earlier offering.
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Retailer to sell third high-def format
New Medium Enterprises, marketer of a third high-definition DVD format, has signed PC Rush as the first U.S. retailer to carry its HD Versatile Multilayer Disc (VMD) players.
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NAVD: Blockbuster-TWC pact 'anti-competitive'
The National Assn. of Video Distributors this week vented its frustration over Genius Products’ and The Weinstein Co.’s direct deal with Blockbuster.
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