DVDs have outsold videocassettes domestically for the first time in the five-year history of the optical disc format, generating more than $4.6 billion in annual sell-through sales, compared with $3.8 billion for VHS video sell-through sales posted for 2001, according to the DVD Entertainment Group.
DVD rentals generated more than $1.4 billion last year, for an annual cume of about $6 billion in gross sales and rental revenue, according to the group, which comprises the major Hollywood studios and leading home electronics manufacturers, among others.
"This growth comes from the phenomenal increase in both sales and rentals of DVDs and has propelled the overall home video business to an unprecedented annual growth rate of 21% for the year," said Warner Home Video president Warren Lieberfarb, who made the group's announcement Tuesday night at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
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