DVD and Blu-ray Disc Rentals on the Decline, but Still Surpass Streaming

By Karla Robinson
August 9, 2012

“People renting DVDs and Blu-ray Discs through retail stores, kiosks, and Netflix’s mail service totaled more than 62 percent of all movie rentals in the first half of the year, according to NPD Group,” CNET reports. “In contrast, those renting digital movies via subscription streaming, pay TV video on demand, and Internet VOD added up to only 38 percent.”
However, the popularity of discs is waning, with rentals dropping 17 percent in the last year. Kiosks now represent 45 percent of physical rentals after video stores have faded away.
Digital movie rentals, on the other hand, have increased 5 percent so far this year.
Netflix’s Watch Instantly service played an important part in this jump, accounting for 66 percent of all digital movie rentals. “The company recently announced that it had added 530,000 U.S. streaming subscribers in the second quarter while losing 850,000 customers of its DVD service,” notes CNET.
While Netflix maintains popularity on connected devices (tablets, smart TVs), much of its content is still only available as physical rentals. Also, the streaming content lacks special features like commentary or bonus material.
So it’s not over for discs just yet. “Video streaming needs to catch up with physical rentals in both availability and options for it to truly take off in the market,” the article suggests.

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