11/01/2006

Over 40m sold in 2005: the DVD consolidated its growth with a 33% increase as compared to 2004. According to the data from Univideo (the umbrella organization for all of the main companies within the Italian Home Entertainment industry), after months of limited consumption, home video gained new ground during the Christmas period. The best-selling DVD of 2005 was The Incredibles, which led a battalion of animated films that took the top 4 of the top 5 selling films: Shrek 2, Madagascar and Shark Tale. Fifth place went to Star Wars.

Last July, Univideo predicted a 1 billion euro market for 2005 (including sales and rentals), an increase of over 10% with respect to 2004. The final data will not be available for several more weeks and president Davide Rossi said, "Our expectations for 2005 were more ambitious, yet in a situation of considerable consumer fall-off such as this one, it is important for audiovisual companies to continue expanding their presence in Italian families. We must stress that the average price of a DVD dropped approximately 21% this year, in contrast to many other consumer goods. The solidity of our sector clearly emerges; it maintains its positions and guarantees support and profit despite an increasingly more complex and confusing competitive scenario, at times as a result of new media whose business strategies leave us relatively perplexed." Rossi was referring to telephone companies, which are set on bringing films to the mini-screens of mobile phones.

(Translated from Italian)