Disney recently announced a deal with Sony, according to which the latter will take over the production, distribution, and marketing of Disney’s DVD and Blu-ray discs. This decision by Disney can be considered strategically sound and very timely, given the current trends in the DVD and Blu-ray sales industry, which continue to decline amid the rapid development of streaming services.
According to the trade association DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group, revenue from physical media sales in the US in the first half of 2023 fell by 28% to $754 million, compared with $1.05 billion in the previous year. Consumers increasingly prefer the convenience and accessibility of digital content, making the maintenance and development of the physical media business more costly and less efficient. Disney’s decision to transfer part of its business to Sony seems logical in this context.
What does this mean for ordinary consumers? Nothing to worry about: you can still purchase physical copies of your favorite movies and TV shows, but now under the Sony brand. For Disney, this transition will allow it to focus on its digital and streaming initiatives without sacrificing quality and reputation, as the physical copies of its films and TV shows will be released with high quality, which Sony will replace. Also, this deal may lead to several layoffs at Disney, but there have been no official statements on this matter from Disney yet.
Are DVD and Blu-ray Discs coming to an end?
Given the trend observed in recent years, the thesis that physical media have ended is gaining more and more sense. Recall the statement by Best Buy that starting in 2024; the company will no longer offer DVD and Blu-ray discs for sale online or in stores. The company confirmed this decision, telling Variety: “To state the obvious, the way we watch movies and TV shows today is vastly different from what it was decades ago.”
Considering, as I wrote earlier, that physical media sales in the US fell by 28% in the first half of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022, the future of physical media is clearly not bright, and I am confident that the trend will continue to decline.
So, it is likely that in about 5 years, DVDs and Blu-rays will become more of a domain for collectors or movie enthusiasts rather than a mass product, which even now is difficult to call them.
