While optical media struggled as a whole, the Blu-ray disc format enjoyed a healthy 2008.
Spending on Blu-ray sales and rentals nearly tripled over the last year, growing from $270 million in 2007 to $750 million last year, according to data from the Digital Entertainment Group. Rentals and sales of DVD and VHS/UMD declined during the same annual period, with DVD hitting its lowest numbers since 2004.
To be fair, DVD spending still trumps Blu-ray by almost $21 billion, but that also means the format's $1.7 billion drop -- to $21.6 billion in sales and rental spending last year -- is greater than the entire Blu-ray disc market.
DEG touts that the added Blu-ray sales and rentals help offset the hurting DVD figures, leading to "a single digit (percentage) drop" over the last year. "This stability underscores that the buying and renting of packaged media remains a core spending choice for consumers who have grown accustomed to the enhanced experience and convenience the medium provides," DEG wrote in a press release.
You know it's bad when a trade group boasts about a drop of less than 10 percent in optical media sales and rentals. Keep in mind, though, that the DEG consists of many optical disc retailers and player manufacturers, so you can't blame its optimism during hard times.
Where might those extra consumers have drifted? Probably to online video, which was on the rise this holiday season and will likely show growth in 2008 as a whole. Meanwhile, the optical disc market has been steadily falling over the last five years, and it's got to hurt.
