TV SHOWS FIND NEW HOME ON DVD

DAN ALAIMO

Television programming released on DVD is gaining gradual acceptance among retailers, although many supermarkets still balk at the higher price points of box sets.

Any kind of TV screening was once regarded as the end of the line for a video title. Retailers believed it would never rent or sell on video again.

Yet, with the advent of DVD and its added features and lack of recording function, much has changed. Now, studios are releasing entire seasons of recently aired popular series. Many are aimed at the female demographic, which some sources said would make the TV titles an ideal fit with supermarkets.

For example, there were 555 such titles released on DVD last year, 5.9% of the industry's total, according to the DVD Release Report newsletter. Of those, 56% were single-disc compilations, 16% were two-disc sets, and 28% were multi-disc compilations.

Bashas', Chandler, Ariz., is selling single-disc titles at well under $10, said Ray Wolsieffer, video specialist. "We are doing some of the low-budget, older, classic TV series -- like Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, and 'The Andy Griffith Show' -- and they seem to be doing reasonably well," he said.

"We rarely will do box sets. From experience, we don't find that there's a great demand for purchasing those in our stores," Wolsieffer said.

B&R Stores, Lincoln, Neb., is renting the TV-to-DVD product, said Bob Gettner, video buyer/coordinator. "We've started getting more and more of them. I just recently brought in the 'Starsky and Hutch' series, and we brought in 'Gilligan's Island' not long ago. For some reason, people have a renewed interest in watching that stuff on DVD," he said.

"We're going to continue to bring more in. They're not necessarily asking us for them, but they're finding them and renting them," Gettner said.

Fifteen years ago, any TV showing was considered the death knell for a title on video, said Greg Rediske, president, Video Management Co., Tacoma, Wash. "Now, I don't care how insignificant the television show is or how old it might be, they're coming out with box sets of them."

The stores Rediske services don't sell many because of the price points on the box sets, although there have been a "significant amount" of special orders for box sets for shows like "The Sopranos." Supermarkets would do a bigger business if more single-disc product was available, he noted.

"TV Guide has been a leading seller in supermarkets for years," said Mark Fisher, vice president, membership, Video Software Dealers Association, Encino, Calif., and the former head of the video program at Stop & Shop, Quincy, Mass. "The supermarket shopper is the average consumer, and the average consumer is a fan of prime-time television. What better place to reach the consumer with this mass-market product than the local supermarket?" he said.

"Sales of TV product have increased due to the low DVD price points," said Leslie Baker, vice president, sales, grocery and drug, Ingram Entertainment, La Vergne, Tenn. "We see a huge upside, provided the titles are offered at a budget price point and the studios continue to provide a steady flow of product." Single-disc titles will do better in supermarkets because of the prices, she added.

Although priced upwards of $40, supermarkets should be able to sell DVD sets because they have other products in that price range, said Bob Alexander, president, Alexander & Associates, New York. "These TV box sets are great products. They are the kind of thing that undoubtedly appeals to the kind of shopper that frequents the supermarkets. To the extent that supermarkets can get used to selling a $20 or $25 bottles of wine, they might be able to see their way clear to stock an inventory of some of these titles."

Top 10 Supermarket Video Rental Titles

RANK, Last Week: Title (Weeks Out)

1, 1: Mona Lisa Smile (1), Paramount

2, N: Dr. Seuss' Cat in the Hat, Universal

3, 2: School of Rock (2), Paramount

4, 3: The Missing (3), Columbia

5, 5: Cold Creek Manor (3), Buena Vista

6, 4: Matchstick Men (3), Warner

7, 6: Runaway Jury (4), Columbia

8, 7: Duplex (2), Miramax

9, N: 21 Grams, Universal

10, 8: Good Boy! (2), MGM

N = New

As of March 7, 2004

This chart, tailored for the supermarket video market, is based on information taken from more than 1,000 supermarket rental locations serviced by Ingram Entertainment, La Vergne, Tenn.