OPINION: My local DVD store just put up a notice saying it is closing down, just like dozens of others around the country.
It was a small, independent store that lasted longer than the nearby Video Ezy.
The decline of DVDs starting in 2006 when streaming or downloading movies first started in New Zealand.
What started as a trickle then, is now a raging torrent as people turn to Netflix, YouTube, iTunes and other services to get their movies.
In 10 short years, a whole sector of the entertainment industry is all but dead.
DVDs will soon get a slight boost with the release of ultra-high definition (4K) discs this year.
Entertainment companies hope people will start buying them to get the most out of their new 4K televisions, but really, it's just a last hurrah.
More Kiwis are getting ultrafast broadband and soon many people will be able to stream 4K over the internet.
None of this is very surprising, but it does not bode well for traditional television broadcasters such as TVNZ and TV3.
It's now the second year that Netflix, Lightbox and Neon have been available in New Zealand. If they follow a similar trend to DVDs, they have eight years left, though I think the decline will happen much faster.
TVNZ and TV3 are developing good online services but they face a big problem around advertising. I recently watched a five-part series via TVNZ Ondemand, and during those five hours, I only saw two or three ads.
If I'd been watching normally, I would have seen about 100.
As more people watch online, fewer people see ads and broadcasters start losing money for which they use to buy new programmes. Fewer quality shows means people look elsewhere for their entertainment.
The broadcasters will be hoping there will be a tipping point where advertisers move online along with the audience. However, they face aggressive competition from paid subscription services such as Netflix, Lightbox and Neon along with the rest of the internet.
I hope they will survive as more competition is usually better for the consumer, but they face a tough fight to save going the way of the DVD store.
Source: Stuff NZ
