LAS VEGAS - NATO DOWN CLOSE WINDOW

NATO DOWN CLOSE WINDOW

Wrapping up its ShoWest convention in Las Vegas last Friday, the National Association of Theater owners warned studios against further closing the window between the end of a movie's theatrical release and its release on DVD. As reported by Video Business magazine, studios narrowed the window by six days last year. But the decision to do so did not significantly boost DVD sales, the organization suggested. While revenue in theaters was up 2.8 percent, DVD sales were down 15 percent, NATO observed. While not showing a correlation, NATO urged that "distributors, faced with declining DVD revenues, resist the impulse to trim marketing budgets by shrinking the theatrical release window." And in yet another alteration of the pecking order, the Walt Disney Co. said Friday that it will release the high-definition Blu-ray version of its 1937 classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs on Oct. 6, seven weeks before its release on standard DVD.

06/04/2009