The fall in revenue of the DVD market in France is celebrated in some quarters of the domestic online prophets as they are waiting for the speedy demise of the physical media. However, a leading French independent replicator puts cold water on these enthusiasts.

"The announcement of the death of the package media is exagerated," says Laurent Villaume, CEO of QOL. He points out that the Simavelec, the industry body representing CE makers of more than 50 brands of DVD players, reported that over four million players were sold in France in 2008, bringing the total installed base to 37 million machines.

Villaume is confident. "We believe strongly in the success of physical media in the French market. With the approval of the law against illegal internet downloading – the so-called HADOPI project ‘Création et Internet’ – scheduled to be voted in the middle of March, a shortening of the theatrical-to-DVD release window to 3 or 4 months, and given the undisputed success of Blu-ray in France, QOL will press DVD until 2016!."

The company has extended its activities to handle the logistics of a variety of product ranges as well as the management of individual accounts on behalf of publishers’ internet sites and for the sale of DVD and Blu-ray.

QOL has already produced some 150 Blu-ray titles including Iron Man, Hulk, Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis, Un jour sur terre from publishers such as TF1 Vidéo, Gaumont, M6, Pathé Vidéo, Europa Corp., and Wild Side vidéo.

Story filed 18.02.09