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New DVD releases boost UK summer sales

Aug 10, 2010 - 06:11 PM GMT

Recent sales figures released by the British Video Association (BVA), using data from the Official Charts Company, reveal strong year-on-year growth for the new-release DVD market. This includes increases from the Fitness, Children’s and Music genres across all formats, helping to boost the 2010 home entertainment industry as a whole.

Lavinia Carey, director general of the BVA, said, “There have been some great new titles released in time for everyone to enjoy over the summer holidays and the improvement on June, which was very slow indeed due to the effects of the World Cup, is extremely welcome after a flat first half of the year.”

The BVA’s latest research report shows that new-release DVD volumes (product less than three months old) rose 15.7% in July, with Nanny McPhee & The Big Bang (Universal) winning the top spot with almost 400,000 sales. Year to date volumes of new release DVDs were up 2.5%. The best selling title of the year so far remains Avatar (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment).

The school holidays have kept demand for Children’s product strong through July, with volume up 14.5% and value up 12.4% compared with a year ago. Kung Fu Panda – Secrets of the Furious (Paramount Home Entertainment) took 270,000 sales in July. Children’s video sales have risen 14.5% year to date, building on the 9.0% increase to the end of June. Disney’s Up remains the biggest-selling Children’s title of the year.

Sport and Fitness volume sales are up a healthy 5.3% to the end of July, driven by demand for Fitness titles. The Music genre, helped by half a million sales of the chart-topping Michael Jackson – This Is It (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) achieved a 4.5% rise in volume to the end of July.

www.bva.org.uk


















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