Figures released by trade body DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group in its year-end 2013 Report, reveal that consumer spending topped $18 billion, led by sales of digital and Blu-ray. Electronic Sell-Through (EST) spending rose 50 per cent compared to 2012

According to DEG, stability in home entertainment continued for the second straight year in 2013 as total consumer spending rose nearly one per cent to $18.2 billion. Results were boosted by the growing awareness and acceptance of digital services and products offered by both online and high street retailers.

EST – now branded as DIGITAL HD – jumped 50 per cent for the year, surpassing $1 billion for the first time, while VoD spending rose five per cent in 2013 from a year earlier. New platforms such as Comcast’s digital movie sell-through service and Target Ticket, and media hub consoles such as Microsoft’s Xbox One and Sony’s PlayStation 4 contributed to growth by expanding consumer access to entertainment.

Among the highlights for 2013:
•    Consumer spending on EST climbed close to 50 per cent compared to 2012 representing $1 billion in consumer spending dollars.
•    Overall spending on digital content rose 17 per cent in 2013.
•    Blu-ray Disc spending remained consistent, up about five per cent for the year.
•    The number of Blu-ray homes continues to grow, with total household penetration of all Blu-ray compatible devices (including BD set-tops, PS3s and HTiBs [Home Theatre in a Box]) now at more than 72 million US homes according to numbers compiled by the DEG with input from retail tracking sources.
•    There are now more than 15 million UltraViolet accounts and most major retailers support UltraViolet.
•    Consumers purchased more than 38 million HDTVs in 2013. HDTV penetration is now at more than 96 million US households according to numbers compiled by the DEG with input from retail tracking sources.
•    Strong consumer interest in the new Ultra HD/4K technology bodes well for the home entertainment industry.
•    Among the best-selling titles of 2013 were: Despicable Me 2 (Universal Studios Home Entertainment), Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (Summit Entertainment), The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment), Wreck-It Ralph (Walt Disney Studios), Skyfall (MGM), Star Trek Into Darkness (Paramount Home Media Distribution), Monsters University (Walt Disney Studios), Iron Man 3 (Walt Disney Studios), Man of Steel (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment) and The Croods (Dreamworks Animation/Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment).

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