Blu-ray Player Owners Still Buying Regular DVDs

With Format War Over, Blu-ray Still Challenged By Low HDTV Penetration and Modest Awareness, According to Latest Survey of Global Blu-ray and HDTV Adoption By Interpret

Latest Research Results Show UK and US Lead HDTV and Blu-ray Market, Followed Closely By Japan; France and Germany Lag in HDTV Penetration, and Blu-ray Has Major Awareness Problem in France

Movie Availability May Be An Issue: Blu-ray Disc/HD DVD Owners Continue to Buy Standard Definition DVDs

Interpret, LLC, a leading new media research firm has found that the success of Blu-ray Disc remains challenged by low HDTV penetration and modest format awareness. The UK and US lead the market: UK HDTV penetration closely follows US (35% UK, 39% US), and the majority of UK and US consumers are aware of Blu-ray Disc (56% UK, 60% US). Japan has moderate Blu-ray awareness (45%) and HDTV penetration (28%), but Blu-ray hardware penetration matches UK and US at 9%.

Interpret’s research shows that France and Germany pose greater challenges to the format, with HDTV penetration low in both countries (18% Germany, 21% France). While Blu-ray awareness is moderate in Germany (49%), only 3 in 10 consumers in France (30%) have ever heard of Blu-ray Disc.

In the US, UK, and Japan, Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD owners continue to buy standard definition DVDs. In the US, hi-def disc buy rates outpace standard def (8.7 vs. 7.7 in the past 6 months), but the reverse is true in the UK (11.4 standard, 7.9 hi def) and Japan (5.3 standard, .6 hi-def). Increased title availability may be the key to increasing Blu-ray buy rates.

“Winning the format war was just the first step for Blu-ray. Now, movie studios worldwide need to work together to address the structural challenges to the format’s growth,” Michael Dowling, CEO, Interpret said. “The UK, US, and Japan represent opportunities to grow the Blu-ray installed base quickly. In France and Germany, studios will need to work in parallel with HDTV manufacturers to more rapidly grow the HDTV installed base first.”

Study Methodology
Interpret’s survey was conducted among a nationally-representative sample of adults 18-54 in each country.

• Sample size per territory: N=600 (US), N=562 (UK), N=487 (DE), N=570 (FR), N=689 (JP).
• Random-digit-dial telephone methodology in US, UK, DE, FR. In-person household interviews in JP.
• Interview dates (all 2008): 1/14-15 (US), 1/11-13 (UK), 1/17-22 (DE), 1/25-28 (FR), 1/19-21 (JP).
• Each country’s national census estimates were used to insure that the overall sample was representative of all adults 18-54 in each country.

About Interpret
Interpret, LLC is a next-generation media measurement and market research firm — the first to focus on evaluating and measuring the intersections of media content, technology, advertising and consumer behavior. Interpret’s management team has unique experience pioneering new measurement and custom research methodologies in both traditional and new media, including video games, mobile content, technology, home entertainment (DVD/Hi-Def), theatrical pictures and television.