Disney to stop selling DVDs and Blu-rays in Australia and New Zealand
Last week came the announcement that Disney will stop releasing DVD and Blu-ray discs in Australia and New Zealand, starting this August. The final physical media releases in those two countries is “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3.” Remaining DVD/Blu-ray stock will be sold, but once it’s sold out, that’s all. Australians and New Zealanders who want Disney-owned material will have to do one of the following:
Subscribe to Disney+, which costs $13.99/month or $139.99 a year (Australian dollars) in Australia, or $14.99/month or $149.99/year (New Zealand dollars) in New Zealand.
Buy TV shows and movies on digital video. Going by JustWatch, “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” costs $25 (in Australian and New Zealand dollars) on Apple TV, Amazon, and Google Play.
Order DVDs and Blu-rays from international online retailers, which doesn’t sound cheap. Fortunately, Disney’s Blu-rays are region-free.
Australia’s Seven Network reports that the reason for Disney’s move is a decline in physical media sales in Australia and New Zealand, plus the rise in popularity of Disney+. Disney’s already stopped selling DVDs in parts of Latin America and Asia for similar reasons.
The future of North American Disney DVDs and Blu-rays?
It’s unclear whether or not Disney will decide to stop selling DVDs in the rest of the world, including North America. Disney’s been releasing 100th anniversary DVDs and Blu-rays of some of their films, and there’s still plenty of people interested in physical media.
However, sales of physical media in the US have greatly declined. In 2022, physical media sales only made up 4.4% of all home video revenue, pulling in $1.6 billion (down by almost 20% from 2021). Digital sales now eclipse physical sales, earning $2.5 billion last year (or 6.8% of total revenue, up 1.7% from 2021). Streaming is now the dominant money-maker for home video, at almost 83% of all revenue.
A DVD/Blu-ray alternative: buying digital videos?
While digital videos are an alternative to buying physical discs or being on the hook for a monthly subscription service, they still have their own downsides. The heavy digital rights management (DRM) and strong ties to the store they’re bought from makes digital videos, in some respects, less flexible than DVDs/Blu-rays. Digital videos also are capable of easily being pulled for sale from their respective stores on a media conglomerate’s whim.
Still, digital purchases do have their advantages. For starters, many people no longer own any device that can play DVDs/Blu-rays; computers and an increasing number of video game consoles have dropped optical drives. Digital video purchases are also playable on almost anything with a screen, even if within a web browser. Finally, while setting up a Plex server and ripping one’s DVDs/Blu-rays is a viable option for some, most people don’t have the skills, resources, or willingness to do so.
Conclusion
For any readers in Australia or New Zealand, how do you feel about Disney dropping DVD/Blu-ray sales there? What are your plans for viewing Disney content?
"Avengers Movie" by JeepersMedia is licensed under CC BY 2.0. (Flickr / cropped from original)