rgale@man.UUCP (Ryan Gale) (02/21/86)
(Fire Extinguisher on hold - Flammable Materials Present)
Beta's In Trouble Say Video Distribs;
Some Hanging On
Las Vegas - When the Consumer Electronics Show put on its panel
about the video marketplace, the one thing everyone seemed to
agree on was that the Beta format is in big trouble.
East coast retailer Dick Lewis told the panel audience, "We
said goodbye to it. It just doesn't exist as a viable consumer
product."
New Video's Steve Savage said his new videostores won't
carry Beta tapes, and that, of those that do, only 7-11% of their
business comes from beta.
The apparent demise of the format could be bad news for
Hollywood, which has enjoyed increased vidcassette sales from
stores that have had to stock copies of films in both VHS and
Beta formats.
Other speakers gave a more optimistic outlook for Beta.
National Video head Ron Berger noted some NV franchise holders
operate in communities where as much as 50% of the business is
accounted for by Beta tapes. Embassy Home Entertainment sales
v.p. Rand Bleimeister said Beta accounts for about 12% of EHE
sales, although 45% of the stores the company surveyed carry no
Beta product at all.
The Federated Group's Gary Tobey said that electronics chain
has not abandoned Beta, and is taking a "wait and see" attitude
about the format.
Still, retailers, particularly mass merchants, are increas-
ingly reluctant to stock both VHS and Beta tapes, according to
Prism Entertainment corp. senior v.p. Robin Montegomery, who said
her company will not put out any of its sales-orientated product
(Priced below $20) in Beta. When Prism's general business slips
to a 95-5 VHS-Beta ratio, Prism will abandon Beta altogether, she
said.
<The Remaining paragraphs discussed video programming plans,
and possible incentives to improve video rentals...>
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Ryan Gale
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