UK Consumer Spending On 3D Blu-Ray Discs To Rise Tenfold This Year

Consumer spending on 3D Blu-ray discs in the United Kingdom is predicted to rise tenfold in 2011, according to the latest research from IHS Screen Digest. The estimates were made based on a number of positive developments in the three-dimensional home entertainment scene, including increased awareness of home 3D technology among the British public, as well as growing penetration of relevant 3D hardware.

Acquired by iSuppli Corporation in June last year, Screen Digest is a London-based research and consulting firm that covers the global media and technology markets. A new analysis from the company forecasts that UK consumer spending on Blu-ray 3D discs will reach US $25 million (around £15 million) this year, representing a ten times increase from the US $2.5 million (approximately £1.5 million) recorded last year. Screen Digest went even one step further to predict that the figure will swell to US $91.2 million (£56.2 million) in three years’ time by 2014.

Despite these numbers, Britain is expected to be only the second largest market for 3D Blu-ray (3D BD) discs in the world for 2011. Unsurprisingly, the biggest market by far should be the USA, whose residents will spend an average per-title price of US $28.33 (around £17.43) on 5.7 million 3D Blu-ray discs this year (up from the 900,000 3D BD titles purchased last year). This means that American consumer spending on Blu-ray 3D discs will grow from US $24.8 million (£15.3 million) in 2010 to $160.8 million (£98.9 million) this year.

Richard Baxter, a research analyst in the video division at IHS, cited a number of factors that prompted the company to issue such an optimistic forecast, of which the most significant one is the impending arrival of more 3D BD titles in retail stores. Film studios like Walt Disney and Warner Bros. are preparing to release a bunch of 3D Blu-ray movies this year, with at least 65 titles predicted to hit the United States. Besides boosting 3D technology awareness and 3D-capable HDTV adoption among consumers, the increased availability and choice of 3D BD discs should also have a positive impact on overall sales.