DVD sales likely nearing global peak: report.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Movie sales on DVD are likely nearing their peak
worldwide as more people look to computer downloads and
video-on-demand to watch their favorite programming, according to a
report released on Wednesday.

"The PC industry is champing at the bit to provide downloaded movies
that might compete with DVD sales, and Pay-TV services want to add
movies to their video-on-demand services, to their new
disk-drive-equipped set-top boxes, and to their emerging
high-definition TV services," said Gerry Kaufhold, an In-Stat analyst
and author of the report.

DVD sales growth is slowing, according to several recent reports. A
study released by Adams Media Research in October forecast DVD sales
of about $17.3 billion this year, a 12 percent rise from 2004. Adams
forecast a 9 percent rise to $18.9 billion in 2006.

The industry also is grappling with a scuffle over what technology
will underpin the new wave of high-definition DVDs, the report said.

"The migration to next-generation high-definition optical disc formats
is not going smoothly," Kaufhold said.

On one side is Sony Corp. with its Blu-ray format and studio
supporters such as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., and Fox Filmed
Entertainment. The rival format is HD DVD, championed by a group of
consumer electronics companies including Toshiba Corp..

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