Poland - the rise and rise of DVD

In Poland, the DVD player was, until recently, a gadget for the rich people only. The average cost of a player was about 2,500 PLN (620 Euro) four years ago – a time when the average monthly salary was about 512 Euro – and the cost of DVD title was 25-22 Euro. There was limited choice at DVD retailers, titles were without Polish subtitles and the extras came in Original Version only. Anna ANNA DOBROWOLSKAD reports.

Today, eight years after the introduction of DVD into the Polish market, DVD players are being sold for less then 75 Euro. One famous promotion campaign developed for the megastore Mega Avans offered DVD players for just 24 Euro.

As a result of the price point crash sales have boomed. There were about 20,000 DVD players on the Polish market in 1999, about 100,000 – plus many more DVD in computer drives – in 2002. Estimates for the installed base of DVD players at the end of 2004 range from 1.1 million to 1.5 million. Some predicts that DVD drives will be in 3 million homes by the end of that year.

Potential market growth in Poland is enormous – especially in the long-term – according to Deloitte Central Europe research, which records that the size of the DVD market has increased 15 times since 1997.

CBOS – an important Polish research company – estimates that 37% of population now has a collection of DVD discs. A DVD drive has become standard equipment for computers. And owning a DVD player with the surround system – i.e. Home Cinema – has became an icon of social status in Poland.

As history shows, DVD has been a phenomenal success in all EU countries. But in Poland – as compared to the new Union countries – people rent, and retailers sell, the most discs. According to February ’05 research by “High-Tech World”, the DVD market in Poland is growing so fast that in 2008 it can be expected to catch up with those EU countries where DVD is the most popular format of home entertainment.

In-Stat Market Research says print media is mainly responsible for the boom of DVD films. DVD discs are, these days, added to nearly all colour magazines. And this popular practice has changed the situation for producers and distributors. For the moment, sales have decreased and consumers are seeking out the cheapest titles. But even these budget lines are finding that sales are relatively low.

The DVD boom in Poland is specific, according to Masters & Holland research. In 80% of the villages and small towns, film rental outlets regularly enrich their stock illegally by buying magazines with cover mounts of interesting films and re-selling them.

From some time the Polish market has been infected by bacillus of TV series – including Friends, The Sopranos and the Polish show, Kate & Thomas.

These offerings are usually different to the foreign discs. Full series of shows such as Friends, for example, is available in Gemany. In Poland, however, the show is on offer in a few segments only. The situation is similar with special limited editions – the Polish productions are poorer value than their German counterparts.

Roman Polanski’s The Pianist is a good example. A beautiful triple-disc box set is being sold in Berlin with extras featuring Wadysaw Szpilman’s music. In Poland, the film is sold in a basic "vanilla" version only. Users complain that two-disc sets have disappointed from time to time.

In terms of price, the biggest hits cost about 20-22 Euro. New releases fluctuate between 17-22 Euro. The prices are higher than the same editions in Poland’s western neighbours. 24 hours – series known in Poland thanks to Polsat TV – the cost of six discs in Imperial edition was 92 Euro. The same edition offering the same quality and Polish subtitles was less than 50 Euro in Germany two months ago.

Most interesting for DVD consumers are theatrical hits. Films produced directly for DVD are not big sellers. People prefer to buy one colour magazine with a film insert than pay a higher price for the good edition of the new film. The situation is similar for DVD rental outlets. It is, quite often, cheaper to buy than to rent a DVD film.

From among the genre on offer, consumers usually choose the optimistic, romantic comedy – the same productions that are popular in the cinemas.

Compared to the CD audio market – where prices have been relatively constant for years – the DVD market offers many price options. Buyers of all kinds can find something to suit their budget. Less popular films on DVD are sold for just 2 Euro and distributors organize new price-driven promotions all the time.

Promotions are now part of the regular distribution system. A promotional package from one distributor offers all films at the same price. After the promotion, the price is set back to the old level until the next sales promotion campaign starts.

Among the most known promotion are DVD Mania from Warner (cost: 12 Euro), The Low Prices Zone of the same distributor (7-9 Euro) and Crazy Prices of Imperial (10-12 Euro). Super markets routinely organize very attractive promotions. Special boxes, or shelves, are stacked with cheap discs – where the prices, according to the title, run between 2 and 5.5 Euro.

Other highly popular point of sales include kiosks, petrol stations and the outlets with press and colour magazines. The prices of magazines with the inserts started from about 1.7 Euro. Now, the print media, little by little, is lifting prices to 2.2-3.2 Euro.

Increasingly, special editions are appearing on the shelves of certain shops or megastores. They are marked out by the different covers or add-on extras in the package. The edition of the The Day After Tomorrow movie is a good example. The triple-disc set was upgraded and removed from the common distribution channels to one of the biggest Polish megastore network just before the premiere.

According to distributors, most discs – about 60% – are bought in hypermarkets. Music shops and the network of special shops as Media Markt, Empik Megastore, Traffic Club etc. have a 22% market share.

But the real development in distribution is the burgeoning use of DVD inserts in magazines. It makes for a difficult situation for regular distributors and retailers on the Polish DVD scene. And the situation will change only when the print media stops drenching the press market with ultra-low price titles.
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