From Video Business:

RETAILERS SWAMPED
By flood of TV titles
By Susanne Ault 7/1/2005

JULY 1 | Retailers love rising TV DVD revenue, but many fear that the genre is fast becoming too much of a good thing.

There are only a finite number of titles stores can promote each week, and some retail managers threw up their hands over the flood that hit stores on June 7. Some 26 TV titles rolled out, an 86% increase in releases from the same week a year earlier.

And retailers believe the onslaught will only intensify. Some of the biggest 2005 TV titles are on deck for late summer and fall, including Buena Vista Home Entertainment's Lost and Desperate Housewives sets and a fresh season of The Simpsons from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

"The studios do a great job of theatrically spacing titles," Musicland VP video merchandising Peter Busch said. "They need to apply that same logic to the TV video business. The market would be better served if titles were more spread out and not so clustered."

Year-to-date, TV DVD unit sales are up 17%, according to NPD Group data, and retailers are no less thrilled than suppliers over the resultant revenue surge.

Virgin Entertainment Group has expanded its stores' TV DVD sections by up to 30%. But retailers say there's only so much they can do to cope with the flood of releases.

"It doesn't make a lot of sense when a studio releases four or five titles at once," said Randy Schaaf, a buyer for Pacific Northwest mass merchant Fred Meyer. "Some people will not have $200 that week to spend on TV shows."

Schaaf questioned Universal Studios Home Entertainment's decision to release three '70s crime series--McCloud: Seasons 1 and 2, McMillan & Wife: Season One and Columbo: The Complete Third Season--simultaneously on Aug. 9.

"Look at who you're marketing to," Schaaf added. "If one is marketed toward the retro crowd, then don't put out three the same week at $30 to $40. No one will buy all of them."

Predicting heavy TV loads through the end of the year, Virgin buyer Chris Anstey is concerned over periods when multiple high-priced collections might street at once. Although TV DVD prices have slipped on average over the past year, pay-TV product, British imports and sci-fi series consistently retail near $100. On July 26, Paramount Home Entertainment will street a $133.95 SRP Star Trek Enterprise set alongside Anchor Bay Entertainment's Xena: 10th Anniversary Collection priced at $59.98.

"This fourth quarter will probably be the strongest ever for TV DVD and we'll fully embrace it," Anstey said. "But the only disadvantage is if there's a number of high-priced box sets. If there are three $100 sets out the same week, customers will prioritize. So studios have to pace themselves."

Virgin and Tower, among other retailers, usually single out a handful of the best new TV DVD releases each week, with about three to 10 such titles granted discounts at Virgin.

Tower has a separate "As Seen on TV" section positioned within its prime new releases area, as opposed to being sequestered within the TV DVD area. For June 7, Tower put on that pedestal HBO Video/Warner Home Video's The Sopranos: The Complete Fifth Season, Paramount's Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica: The Complete Second and Third Seasons, DreamWorks Home Entertainment's Father of the Pride and Warner's Lois & Clark--The New Adventures of Superman: The Complete First Season.

There is not enough space to treat every title equally, though many retailers continue at least to stock every title, though inventory levels vary widely, depending on how earlier seasons of TV shows performed.

Tower might bring in just one or two copies of a title for each of its stores. But chains can order up to hundreds of copies per store for the right title.

Fox was conscious of the TV DVD glut when slotting its sixth season Simpsons set for Aug. 16.

"We understand that the more product there is on the same date, the less likely it will be merchandised optimally," Fox VP marketing Todd Rowan said. "We will often ask the retailers to play traffic cop. We are thinking of this date, but what do [store managers] know that's coming out that would dictate otherwise?"

Yet the shelving squeeze has retailers urging studios to assess whether it's wise releasing every season, of every show, on DVD.

"Who needs [another] Sanford and Son?" asked one chain executive of the Sony Pictures Home Entertainment series, which unleashed its sixth, final season set on June 7.

Fred Meyer's Schaaf admits he's nearing a breaking point in terms of TV DVD ordering.

"I try not to be picky," he said. "I want to offer a selection. But [more weeks like June 7] will start to force me to be a lot pickier."

Last time I was in a BBY, there was an entire aisle - shelves on both sides, dedicated to TV on DVD. I was very happy to see it because it means the market is getting saturated and these $80/season sets like Sopranos are going to get cut off at the knees by the competition. Ain't no reason these sets should cost so much - almost all of these shows were already in the black before the DVDs were released, so the prices should be approaching the cost of packaging and delivery.

Most tv box sets are not thicker than an old vhs tape at this point. I don't see what the big deal is. Stop selling trading cards and so many toys and stock the dvds

this post in the result of a bad title. I see nothing in the article that supports the title, all that the article seems to state for those of you who only read things in bold is that the studios are flooding B & M stores with too many releases and they need to space them out more. There is nothing to say that STUDIOS are contemplating not completing tv runs on DVD. The only line that comes close is one a retail exec. made about "who needs another season of sanford and son." (paraphrased).

See, but it's also frustrating not to get TVDVD sets once they come out with the first season, my opinion coming from Malcolm in the Middle only having the first season out when it came out over a year to a year and a half ago....grrrrr

I agree completely - as a matter of fact, there are indications in the article that the exact opposite is true:

"Yet the shelving squeeze has retailers urging studios to assess whether it's wise releasing every season, of every show, on DVD."

If studios were already contemplating what the misleading tite suggests, why would retailers need to be urging them to start considering this?

I don't buy or watch Sanford and Son, but since that logic can be easily applied to any TV series release, I would be mad as hell if some retailer shrugged and said, "Does anyone really need another season of Scrubs?" or "...another season of South Park?" Although I understand the space squeeze, screw retailers for placing their petty, greedy needs over the needs/desires of the consumers. No, I don't want to wait a year or any longer than I have to for the next season of Cheers to come out, or something, just because some retailer is complaining.

And this is why I buy my DVDs online (mostly).

I have never bought a TV show set at a B&M. Why would I do so? That's what those big on-line retailers have those big honkin' warehouses for. To house all those sets and whatnot for as long as they have room for them.

I don't know how big these warehouses are, but if they're as big as a local Circuit City distribution warehouse near me, they're fuckin' huge.

Come on mods, change the title, this thread title blows.

ahem....

The retailers are having the studios to consider this. I don't get why that was missed....

see post #6. That actually states that the retails want them to contemplate it, not that they actually are. There is NOTHING in the article that suggests STUDIOS are considering this option.

Not to take this conversation in a different direction...

But I refuse to purchase a season set of shows on because of all the recent "cutting" of certain series.

Studio's are more than happy to toss another "Director's Cut" or "Unrated" version of a movie my way but they can't bother keeping thier old TV series complete.

Missing scenes and the use of syndicated versions of episodes is just plain sloppy and i refuse to waste my money on a flawed product.

retailers need to be doing their job, stocking only what sells. If Sanford and Son season 5 didn't sell well, don't order a huge quantity of season 6, if any at all. This will let the distributers/publishers know what does and doesn't need to be released. I mean, im fairly certain there are far, far more movie/regular DVDs out there available than there are TV show dvd sets, and your local BestBuy/Target/FYE/CircuitCity/Frys/ect... doesn't carry each and every one of those either

Do you really expect the studios to sit back and go, "Hmm, we are making too much money releasing all of these TV shows. Maybe we should take it easy on those poor retailers."

What a dumb article.

Having retailers bitch about the lack of shelf space won't be the reason studios stop releasing shows. The only show I've started to collect so far and gotten screwed on is Mad About You. They better not bend me over the table with any other shows.

If anything, it would just push for better dvd packaging that will be both slimmer and allow more units to fit on the shelf so that they aren't fighting for the shelf space.

I take it the retail stores are just getting lazy. Which doesn't surprise me, and that's why I don't buy from them....

Deep. Discount. DVD.

Yeah, that was the purpose of posting this article. Because I agreed with it.

Calhoun, your title clearly indicates that you expect the studios to take this whining seriously, quit being so defensive and either own up to your poor choice for thread title or quit responding as if you didn't screw up.

Exactly! They also roll out a shitload of older titles at once just to get them out there. There's an audience but not a huge one for stuff like McMillan & Wife and Columbo. So throwing them all out there in one week probably gets the studios a decent amount of revenue. Then they can stratigicly release the bigger titles on smaller release days. I think I'm starting to ramble and repeat myself. DONE...

OK, but my point was that have you ever heard of a studio back away from potentially making more money? I never have. Which is why it seems odd to assume that they would take the retailers seriously at their complaint. You might agree with it, but it doesn't make logical or historical sense.

I wasn't being defensive. I don't understand the personal attacks. I posted an article I read online about DVDs at a DVD message board, which people do here hundreds of times a week. The title reflected what was in the article, not what I thought about it. My only apology is to not have posted some comments right along side with the article. So....

I think that the studios do appear to be getting away from completing full season runs on DVD. Larry Sanders, anybody? How about other Universal titles???? Maybe not all the studios, but there is precedent that they might be taking the shelving space issues in brick and mortar stores seriously. Does that mean I AGREE with it? Or that I EXPECT them to do this? That is the most asinine conclusion of the year, and you know it. YOU jumped to a conclusion, not me.

I am a collector, so if I buy any season set on DVD, I fully expect the studio to commit to releasing the full series on DVD, not copping out on us later on. I know there are others who feel the same way here, as they have posted about SWAT and Charlies Angels and others not being completed, so don't pretend otherwise.

So quit responding as if you're not an ass. Sorry if I am being defensive now, but you forced the issue. You took a topic that was just meant for normal discussion and turned it into something else. Way to go.

And I do want to add the article didn't say the studios don't want to make money. The article specifically points out the stuidos seem to be over loading DVDs marketed to a demographic so they are being forced to make choices and leave other titles they might otherwise buy on the shelf. Maybe that is why we still see several TV shows no where near completion, and other season sets not even in the rumor mill? Again, it's nothing that I agree with. Maybe the studios should pace them selves a little better?

But there's a difference between a title just not selling well (Larry Sanders) and studios "not wanting" to finish a show's run on DVD. In my opinion, if a title is making money and selling well, then studios won't care what the retailers have to say about space issues. They might make a set slimmer (like with Buena Vist'a recent titles), but they won't stop making sets for the sake of the retailers.

Also, I don't think a studio can really be personified like that. That is to say, I don't think a studio has an opinion about a show one way or the other (unless there are behind the scenes politics involved); it's about profit, making money or losing money. That's all.

But that point goes right back into that article. The article suggests that some titles that might sell well other wise may not even get a fair chance because of so many like titles being marketed to the same demographic in the same time period. Mary Tyler Moore didn't sell that smashingly well for the first season release either, but at least Fox had the sense enough to take time to examine why and to figure out a better way to market season two.

I hope they don't stop some series for the sake of the retailers, but if the retailers don't give shelf space to certain DVDs they don't want to promote, then it won't make money, so what choice will they be left with?