- Sharpening our tools
By Marcy Magiera - 06/01/2007
JUNE 1 | Retailers are in the business of constant change—and so are we. Just as you strive to continually improve your buying, merchandising, customer service and, ultimately, profit, we are striving to improve our coverage, staying just a bit ahead of the industry so we can help you determine in which direction it’s going and deliver that coverage to you faster and in ways that are easier to use. More - It’s a wide, wild world
By Marcy Magiera - 05/18/2007
Home entertainment is reaching consumers through an increasingly wide array of distribution points outside the traditional retail channels. More - Combo for conversation
By Marcy Magiera - 05/11/2007
Blockbuster’s foray into theatrical exhibition makes a great starting point for spinning “what if” scenarios. What if Blockbuster built its single multiplex outside Puebla City, Mexico, into a major North American theater chain? More - Positive world view
By Marcy Magiera - 04/20/2007
While first-quarter sell-through revenue in the U.S. dipped almost 8% on a weak release slate, business internationally was up a healthy 6.1%, according to research concern Media Control GfK. Like in the U.S., release schedules played a role. More - Unrated in debate
By Marcy Magiera - 04/13/2007
The Federal Trade Commission found that the kids were able to buy unrated DVDs 71% of the time. Frankly, I’m surprised they weren’t able to buy unrated DVDs 100% of the time since they are unrated. Even the most strict retail enforcers have no solid grounds to withhold unrated product from teens More - High-def battle of words
By Marcy Magiera - 03/30/2007
The high-def “format war” is actually two wars—or maybe one war fought on two fronts. In either case, there is the core fight between HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc for sales and then there is the clash of words—the P.R. campaign, the skirmish for spin. More - Film ratings redux
By Marcy Magiera - 03/23/2007
The fact that more parents today than ever are lacking either the time or the motivation (or both) to fully vet their children’s entertainment choices is at the heart of some revisions to the MPAA ratings system rules. More - High tide lifts all channels
03/16/2007
MPAA chief Dan Glickman got it mostly right when he said last week that “the companies I represent are helped not only through strong theatrical sales but also strong home video, DVD and Internet sales.” More - Rental doesn't mean what it used to
By Marcy Magiera - 03/02/2007
Video rental has evolved to refer to any copy of a movie available to a viewer for a limited amount of time. All the hype over download-to-burn and electronic sell-through aside, most movie downloads performed by consumers are rentals. More - Piracy plunders
By Marcy Magiera - 02/16/2007
The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. released a study that piracy cost the county about $5.2 billion in lost sales in 2005. Ironically, Apple CEO Steve Jobs is urging that digital music be distributed free of copy protection. More - DVD's deep impact
By Marcy Magiera - 02/09/2007
The financial importance of DVD to Hollywood permeated the business news last week, playing a role in studio financial reports, personnel moves and new technology matters. DVD is still the largest revenue stream to studios. More - Picking high-def partners
By Marcy Magiera - 01/26/2007
There’s really nothing sexy about a format war, but you wouldn’t have known it last week. Rival high-def DVD formats HD DVD and Blu-ray Disc got some of the most intense press with “will they or won’t they” stories about each format’s potential for porn. More - The year in profits
By Marcy Magiera - 01/19/2007
Our quarterly tallies of consumer spending on purchases and rentals of home entertainment, such as the year-end 2006 report, are one measure of how much the studios make. More - Starting fresh
By Marcy Magiera - 01/05/2007
The Los Angeles Times started the New Year with a story in which its fine reporters and editors made predictions about what will happen in the media and entertainment industries this year. More - Twenty-five more for the ages
By Marcy Magiera - 12/28/2006
Blazing Saddles; sex, lies and videotape; and Mary Pickford’s Tess of the Storm Country may seem to have little in common, but just days before the end of 2006, all three were added to the National Film Registry. More - Even good year has challenges
By Marcy Magiera - 12/15/2006
As I said at our Video Hall of Fame gala two weeks ago, the industry has much to celebrate this year. More - The end is in sight
By Marcy Magiera - 12/08/2006
VB sister publication Variety last month ran a very clever obituary for the VHS format. With the tongue-in-cheek headline “VHS, 30, dies of loneliness,” the story was clicked far and wide across the Web. More - Warm reception for Truth
By Marcy Magiera - 12/01/2006
CULVER CITY, CALIF.—Former Vice President Al Gore and the makers of An Inconvenient Truth gathered here last night at the hip Smashbox Studios (home of L.A.’s Fashion Week) to accept Environmental Leadership Awards from the California League of Conservation Voters. More - Bragging—not rental—rights
By Marcy Magiera - 11/17/2006
So Blockbuster is finally getting in the P.R. game as it pertains to rival Netflix Inc., and it has got the perfect partner in consummate indie showmen Bob and Harvey Weinstein. More - Cracking windows
By Marcy Magiera - 11/10/2006
SANTA MONICA, Calif.—If major motion pictures were to be released simultaneously in movie theaters and on DVD, an estimated 15% to 20% of movie patrons would stay home, causing about a third of theaters to shut their doors. More - Next »