The Next Big Thing After DVD? VOD!

Movie studios are likely to make a major push to roll out video on demand (VOD) systems via cable and the Internet over the next three years, Barron’s reported in its current issue. The magazine quoted industry consultant Tom Adams of Adams Media Research as saying that despite the current lack of cable outlets for VOD, “there is a certain inevitability about it.” He predicted that the VOD market will grow to $1 billion in 2003 from the current $30 million. Sony Pictures President Mel Harris agreed, telling Barron’s: “You’re going to see a ramp-up in the next three years that dwarfs the last three.” VOD could come as a major disturbance to video dealers–particularly Blockbuster, the magazine noted. Analyst Jordan Rohan of SoundView Technology Group predicted: “As people transition to VOD, Blockbuster’s share of the total in-home entertainment market will go down.”