Tv On Dvd

TV on DVD has become a huge source of revenue for movie studios, but there's some concern the genre may be growing too fast for its own good.

Explosive TV sales and a shortage of shelf space at retail was a key topic at the Second Annual TV DVD Conference in Los Angeles on Oct. 19. Sales of shows ranging from classics like "The Honeymooners" to new series like "Nip/Tuck" are expected to produce $2.4 billion in sales this year and account for 14% of total DVD revenue.

The boom has prompted studios to release more TV titles than ever, but the flood of product is pouring into a retail environment with limited space.

"We haven't seen an increase in shelf space [at retail] for DVD since 2000, other than having it displace VHS," said Mike Saska, senior vp of U.S. marketing for Warner Home Video. "We need to get in front of retailers and tell them we need more shelf space, or we'll never see the kind of growth people are predicting for this genre."

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment evp of marketing Peter Staddon noted that Wal-Mart's market share in TV sales is less than half of its share in the new-release genre. "So there's tremendous potential there, and we just need to find a way to tap into it," said Staddon.

During two separate awards ceremonies, "The Dick Van Dyke Show" creator Carl Reiner was honored by the Digital Entertainment Group with a TV DVD Lifetime Achievement Award, and "The Simpsons: Complete Fourth Season" won top honors for best animated series.

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COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group

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