If You Can't Sell More, Charge More
Sony has set its wholesale prices for next-gen Blu-Ray discs. Amidst all of the chatter of the flattening of the home video revenue juggernaut, it's not surprising that Sony is seeking to secure growth in home video. Even if people don't seek to upgrade their libraries, new title sales will still deliver more money.
As reported by The Hollywood Reporter,
"Catalog Blu-ray disc titles will wholesale for $17.95, about the same as DVDs when that format hit the market in 1997. New-release Blu-ray discs will wholesale for $23.45, a premium of 15%-20% over what suppliers were charging for new theatrical DVDs."That translates into a retail price of about $34.95 for new movies and $29.95 for catalog films, from BusinessWeekOnline.
Sony's company line was presented by Benjamin Feingold, president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, "The premium is for a way better format and to remind retailers that at the time we launched DVD, VHS was selling for $55 wholesale in the first window."
In this announcement, Sony also highlighted its bundling of DVDs and UMDs for just pennies more than the cost of a DVD alone.
UPDATE: This isn't surprising given the announcement coming just a few weeks later, covered in Variety and The Guardian, that "Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Paramount Home Entertainment and Warner Home Video are cutting back on movie releases for the PSP." Bundling will help Sony move the remainder of its inventory and prop up the type of numbers it reported in 2005 for UMDs. However, The Guardian summed it up in typical Brit bite:
"While it might not surprise you that UMD, a disc format that can only be played in one company's machine, costs more than a DVD, and can't be (easily) played through a TV might not have a great chance of thriving, the same thought clearly didn't occur to Sony's executives."