Surge in Christmas video sales boosted by British talent brings 2011 to a more cheerful end

4th January 2012: Physical video entertainment sales in December were up 8.4% in value to £473.3 million on the same period last year, as highly anticipated hit titles were released in time for the gifting season, according to the British Video Association. Christmas is traditionally the most important time of year for video sales and in 2011 December represented 23% of the year’s total physical sales, the best performance since December 2003, when it represented 23.1%.

For the first time ever great British titles, featuring popular home-grown talent such as in Harry Potter, Inbetweeners, The King’s Speech, Pirates of the Caribbean, Paul and Peter Kay, dominated December disc sales and indeed the Top 10 chart for the whole of 2011, representing 80% of the year’s Top 10 unit sales.

Growth was seen in the value of Blu-ray, up 26.9% last month, while the nation’s favourite format, DVD, proved very much in demand throughout December, taking 87% share of physical disc sales worth £410.1 million, a rise in value of 6.0% on December 2010.

DVD’s volume sales also rose 6%, reaching over 43 million units sold in December, alongside a 31.1% increase in Blu-ray Disc over the same period, 5% of which were 3D Blu-ray Discs. During 2011 as a whole Blu-ray continued to increase its share of the physical disc market, as volume sales rose 18.4% year on year to 15.3 million units, producing a total value of £222.8 million, which is 13% of all physical disc sales.
In the growing paid-for digital video market IHS Screen Digest estimate[i] that downloads and digital rental transactions grew in value by 15% in 2011, with a 12% year on year increase in transactions to 71 million. The rise reflects a growing interest in tailored online services, particularly in video streaming and downloading, which now account for around 13% of the overall video market, worth some £292 million in 2011.

Although overall sales of discs fell 4.9% in value and 7.2% in volume year on year, DVD and Blu-ray Discs are still by far the most popular way to watch video entertainment, with consumers spending £1.75 billion on over 207 million units in 2011. When added to digital and rental transactions the total video entertainment sector is estimated to amount to more than £2.25 billion in consumer spend in the last 12 months.

Lavinia Carey, BVA Director General says: ‘As we predicted, titles released in December meant the industry finished the year on a high, despite the gloomy economic situation. It demonstrates the public’s huge appetite for video entertainment and quality British works in every genre. Like other sectors, the video industry faced a huge squeeze on consumer spending in 2011 and it has met the challenge head on by increasing the number of ways consumers can watch fantastic content and get the most for their money. Triple Play packs are a great example of this as they enable audiences to view a title in three different ways – DVD, Blu-ray, including true 3D and a digital copy – be it on different devices at the same time or at different times and places, according to the whole family’s taste.’

BVA Chairman, Charlie McAuley, observes, “In a challenging economic environment it’s really encouraging to see people continuing to spend their hard-earned cash on the best of our films, television, children’s, sport and music and other great video entertainment. It’s this sector of the audiovisual business that generates the lion’s share of value which is reinvested in future productions for audiences to enjoy”.

~Ends~
Notes to Editors
1. Including all digital and physical retail sales, plus physical rental transactions, consumers spent an estimated total of £2,251 billion in 2011, down 3.4%.
2. As reported in November 2011, OCC’s value data reports have been adjusted following an improvement in methodology. The revised 2010 total market value for video entertainment is £2.3 billion (including digital transactions) rather than £2.6 billion that was published in the 2011 BVA Yearbook in June.

About the BVA
The British Video Association exists to champion video entertainment in all its forms, from packaged media such as DVD and Blu-ray Discs through to digital services available on demand, to rent or to own on portable devices and for home viewing.
The proliferation of content delivery channels is increasing consumer choice and the video industry releases about 8,000 titles a year, on which consumers spent £2.25 billion in 2011. It is the single most valuable part of the audiovisual sector in terms of generating returns on investment for production.
The BVA’s members include film and television companies and independent labels who produce, license and distribute pre-recorded video entertainment, covering film, sport & fitness, music video, TV, children’s and special interest titles. Its members account for some 90% of the sector.
Please see below for 2011 Top 10 video charts. For more information and/or images to illustrate the story, please contact Stephanie Blott or Esme Knight on 020 7618 9116 or email bva@luther.co.uk.

Top Ten Best Selling Titles Of 2011
Title Company

1 Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows – Part 2[ii] Warner Home Video [iii]British
2 Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows – Part 1 Warner Home Video British
3 The Inbetweeners Movie Channel 4 DVD British
4 The King's Speech Momentum British
5 Pirates Of The Caribbean - On Stranger Tides Walt Disney British
6 Despicable Me Universal Pictures
7 Paul Universal Pictures British
8 Tangled Walt Disney
9 Peter Kay - Live - The Tour That Didn't Tour Universal Pictures British
10 Transformers - Dark Of The Moon Paramount Home Ent
 

2011 Charts By Genre
FILM
1 Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows - Part 2 Warner Home Video
2 Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows – Part 1 Warner Home Video
3 The Inbetweeners Movie Channel 4 DVD
4 The King's Speech Momentum
5 Pirates Of The Caribbean - On Stranger Tides Walt Disney
6 Paul Universal Pictures
7 Transformers - Dark Of The Moon Paramount Home Ent
8 The Hangover 2 Warner Home Video
9 Bridesmaids Universal Pictures
10 Inception Warner Home Video

CHILDREN’S
1 Despicable Me Universal Pictures
2 Tangled Walt Disney
3 Gnomeo & Juliet Entertainment One
4 The Lion King Walt Disney
5 Scared Shrekless Paramount Home Ent
6 Cars 2 Walt Disney
7 Toy Story 3 Walt Disney
8 Ice Age 3 - Dawn Of The Dinosaurs 20th Century Fox
9 Beauty And The Beast Walt Disney
10 Kung Fu Panda 2 Paramount Home Ent

MUSIC
1 Take That Progress Live Universal Music
2 Cast Recording Phantom Of The Opera At The Albert Hall Universal Pictures
3 Original Cast Recording Les Misérables - In Concert – 25th Anniversary Universal Pictures
4 Justin Bieber - Never Say Never Paramount Home Ent
5 Adele Live At The Royal Albert Hall Xl Beggars
6 Michael Jackson This Is It Sony Pictures
7 George Harrison Living In The Material World Elevation Sales
8 André Rieu & Johann Strauss Or The Last Rose - Live In Dublin Universal Music
9 André Rieu The Christmas I Love Universal Music
10 Ac/Dc Live At River Plate Sony Music

SPORT
1 Davina - Body Buff 2entertain
2 10 Minute Solution - Blast Off Belly Fat Anchor Bay Ent
3 Jillian Michaels - 30 Day Shred Elevation Sales
4 Pump It Up - Body Burn Ministry Of Sound Group
5 Clare Nasir's Boot Camp Universal Pictures
6 Ashes Series 2010/2011 - Complete Lace DVD
7 10 Minute Solution - Belly Butt & Thigh Anchor Bay Ent
8 Nadia Sawalha's Fat To Fab Workout Universal Pictures
9 Step Up - The Official Dance Workout Universal Pictures
10 Dancing On Ice - The Live Tour 2011 Universal Pictures

TV
1 Mrs Brown's Boys - Series One Universal Pictures
2 The Inbetweeners - Series 3 Channel 4 DVD
3 Celebrity Juice - Too Juicy For TV 2entertain
4 Downton Abbey - Series One Universal Pictures
5 An Idiot Abroad 2 2entertain
6 Downton Abbey - Series Two Universal Pictures
7 Frozen Planet 2entertain
8 The Pacific Warner Home Video
9 An Idiot Abroad 2entertain
10 Gavin & Stacey - Series 3 2entertain

Special Interest
1 Peter Kay - Live - The Tour That Didn't Tour Universal Pictures
2 Lee Evans - Roadrunner - Live At The O2 Universal Pictures
3 John Bishop - Live - The Sunshine Tour 2entertain
4 Alan Carr - Spexy Beast - Live Universal Pictures
5 Micky Flanagan - The Out Out Tour Live Channel 4 DVD
6 Sarah Millican - Chatterbox Live Channel 4 DVD
7 Comedy Superstars 2011 Universal Pictures
8 Russell Howard - Right Here Right Now Channel 4 DVD
9 John Bishop - Live - The Elvis Has Left 2entertain
10 Clarkson - Powered Up 2entertain
Source: Official Charts Company

Visit the BVA website: www.bva.org.uk for further information and to buy the 2011 BVA Yearbook.

[i] IHS Screen Digest 2011 year end forecast
[ii] Titles listed in bold include box-sets in their sales total
[iii] British films are those certified by the DCMS under the UK cultural test