Television series are among the product categories where consumers are being slowest embracing Blu-ray, mainly because of the price differential between the hidef and standard-def versions of season sets. As a consequence, not all series are receiving a BD version, and retailers are more cautious stocking TV titles on BD than movies.
Sources quoted by
Video Business say that to date, the average TV title streeting in DVD and BD sells just 5% of its copies on high-definition disc, as opposed to the 12% to 15% BD average market share for theatrical new releases. However, percentages vary widely. For example, at DeepDiscount, over half of the sales of '
Mad Men' came from Blu-ray. Other strong sellers are '
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Season 2', '
Fringe: The Complete First Season' and '
Lost'. On the other hand, '
The Office: Season Five' sold just under 5% of its total copies in high-def at DeepDiscount.
According to retailers and studios, one of the main reasons for the lower relative sales is the price premium on Blu-ray TV sets, which is often $10 or more per season set over the DVD version. It might be argued that many season sets comprise multiple discs (which increases Blu-ray authoring and production costs), and that the premium per hour of programme is actually lower than for a theatrical feature film on Blu-ray, but the price differential is a deterrent nonetheless. Indeed, Blu-ray sets that have a list price close or identical to its DVD version (such as 'Mad Men') tend to sell best.
As a result of lower sales, studios are still wary about which TV series to publish on BD, and even have pulled back from some BD releases and gone back to DVD only, such as Sony Pictures Home Entertainment with '
Rescue Me' (which had a BD release for Season Three, but not for Seasons Four or Five) and '
Damages' (Season Two announced on DVD for January 2010 with no Blu-ray in sight), and Warner Home Video with '
Nip/Tuck' (for which the fourth season proved to be an exception).
“The significant amount of content and multiple discs make the financial model challenging for many TV series on Blu-ray and is a significant reason for the methodical approach studios are taking to release product,” said Rosemary Markson, VP of TV marketing for Warner Home Video. “Unfortunately, Nip/Tuck Blu-ray sales were insufficient to continue releasing in the format.” Warner is focusing on action and science-fiction genres, as the studio's strategy is “focused on releasing TV shows that can best showcase the superior picture quality of Blu-ray”.
Similarly, some retailers are more selective about
TV on Blu-ray. At InMotion Entertainment, its standard DVD/Blu-ray with TV material is 10 to 1, versus 5 to 1 on new release feature films. Consequently, he chain orders most new release films on Blu-ray, but when it comes from TV, it cherry-picks what to carry and what not. “I think they need to be real close in pricing, within $5,” said Steve Torr, director of purchasing at InMotion.