DVD piracy “just like printing money”

Video stores face tough times. Over recent years, the number of locations of franchises like Videoland is reduced by roughly 10 per cent annually, reports nu.nl. Piracy is the biggest cause. And not just online file sharing. Creating illegal copies of DVD’s is “just like printing money,” says Co Mast, CEO of the Entertainment Retail Group. “One makes a 70 cent copy of a DVD and sells it for ten euro, an appealing proposition.” Anti piracy rules are not enforced strictly enough. The illegal copies are traded daily in sports clubs and at schoolyards.

Video company Star also shares in the troubles. Piracy costs the company, according to director Frans van der Houwen approximately “30% of turnover over the last three years. We have to compete with free.” Ster also saw their number of shops dwindle. Over that same period of three years, the number of stores was reduced from 72 to 50.

Next to problems with illegal DVD’s and online priacy, the movie rental chains face increasing competition from legal online services. While the number of video-on-demand services in the Netherlands is not that high, internationally, this type of service is on the rise. Platforms like iTunes, Netflix and Amazon offer streaming access to movies with a pay per view formula.

The video companies evolve by adapting their propositions. Some offer online access to new movies, others refurbish their stores so customers can rent movies as well as snacks.

4-12-2009