Think video streaming, from services such as Amazon and Netflix, is killing physical discs? Not quite yet, according to the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG), which reports that Blu-ray sales were 28.5 percent higher in the first quarter of this year than a year ago.
Spending on digital distribution jumped 26 percent from quarter to quarter, but when you factor out rentals, digital sell-through—via a la carte services such as Amazon Instant Video, iTunes, and Vudu—was up 51 percent, according to the group.
Though DEG didn't cite specific reasons for the Blu-ray increase, we imagine that the wider availability of titles, the release of special high-interest multiple-disc packages, and lower prices all figured prominently in the increase.
Sales of both new releases and catalog Blu-ray titles rose by 37 percent and 12 percent, respectively, compared to the the first quarter of 2012. DEG also said that 3.2 million Blu-ray players were sold in the first quarter of this year, though that number includes both Blu-ray enabled home-theater-in-a-box systems and Sony PlayStation video-game consoles.
The Blu-ray gains were largely offset by declining sales of standard DVDs, though; when DVD and Blu-ray sales are combined, the total spending on physical discs was up only 2 percent in the quarter.