Disney CEO: DVD isn't Dead, Just Hurting

Posted 03/10/2011 at 6:12am | by Paul Lilly

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Disney boss Bob Iger has seen the writing on the wall, and in big, bold letters, it says, "Consumers have better things to do than sit around watching movies." If that's the case, where does that leave DVDs? According to Iger, the DVD market is "not has healthy as it was," but DVDs aren't dead yet, either.

Iger explained on a television show that Disney is looking at how best to distribute its movies in the face of evolving technologies and consumer behavior. At the same time, Disney is still confident in packaged media.

"The home video business is more challenged than ever before," Iger said. "And that's the problem. People are still buying [DVDs]...They're just not buying as many of them. And the primary reason, I would argue, is that they have other things to do."

Or could it be something else? One could argue that competition from streaming services like Netflix is killing the DVD market, but as far as Iger is concerned, that's not really the case.

"Technology may stand, but you are still facing a more competitive world," Iger explained. "You have many more choices today than you ever did before. It's not just more channels, it is more websites, social networking, and games, all of those those things. I look at my kids' generation and it is not just about watching a TV show or a movie any more, it is about doing other things."

Maybe he's right, but it's hard to deny the impact that streaming media and digital downloads might be having on DVD sales. Perhaps recognizing this, Warner Bros. recently inked a deal with Facebook to rent and sell streaming movies through the social networking site. Maybe that's something Disney will end up doing, too.