In late July came the news Disney was ceasing new DVD, Blu-ray and 4K UHD physical media releases in Australia. Whilst other distributors in the country haven’t officially announced similar plans yet, it is being seen as a sign of things to come.
Now, in a major report today, long-running and well-respected home video news site The Digital Bits has learned from their industry sources that United States retail giant Best Buy plans to exit the physical media business next year – possibly as soon as the end of the first quarter of 2024.
They add that they’ve confirmed the news with multiple sources. The site alleges that the policy shift includes not just U.S. in-store Blu-ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD sales (which were already being phased out) but online sales as well.
As the site notes, distributor Paramount has quietly shifted their Blu-ray and 4K Steelbook exclusive titles to online retail giant Amazon and it’s likely other studios will follow that lead in the coming months.
Today’s report follows on from one back in August which suggested Walmart, the largest retail seller of discs, was in apparent talks with Studio Distribution Services (SDS) to manage parts of the retailer’s own physical media operation.
The site advises that despite the report today that “no one should rush to the conclusion that this spells the end of physical media”. Even so, they say it’s clear that the ‘Golden Age’ of physical media is long gone and what’s left is a thriving (albeit only narrowly profitable) industry catering to diehard fans and collectors.
As they advise – buy the titles you want while you still can because the studios will not keep releasing these titles on disc forever.
Source: The Digital Bits
