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DVD STREET DATE IGNORED
Some stores couldn't wait to start selling discs
by Jill Bilzi
April 7, 1997 -- Some electronics retailers carrying DVD software violated the cardinal rule of Hollywood studio releases: They broke street date.
Some stores in the seven launch markets, including some Best Buy, Circuit City and The Good Guys outlets, broke Warner Home Video's official street date of Tuesday, March 25 by offering the DVD titles for sale on Monday.
Dealers had promoted DVD players and discs heavily in their Sunday newspaper inserts, and some weren't willing to tell customers to "come back in a couple of days" before closing sales. Others broke the street date when they saw sales by competitors. The most competitive markets, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York, appeared to have the most flagrant violation.
"We were in a tough situation," said a spokesperson at Best Buy, who acknowledged breaking street date on the DVD titles in its Chicago and Los Angeles stores only. "If we could confirm surrounding competitors broke street date, then we did."
Software-only retailers, including Suncoast Motion Picture Company stores, which had 118 outlets participating in the launch, held off until March 25. They know that studios and record companies can and do penalize retailers who break street dates on new releases.
A Warner spokesman said the company is evaluating the DVD street date problem. Studios are known for demanding that software dealers respect street dates, and in fact, they changed the street date from Monday to Tuesday because discounters put titles on sale on Sundays.
Studios now drop-ship to major retailers just one day before street date and mark cartons "Do Not Unpack Until..." with the date prominently displayed.
Judy Anderson, president of the Optical Video Disc Association, said studios adopted the Tuesday street date to create a level playing field for retailers. But, she added, "electronics retailers are not accustomed to waiting -- they get the stuff, they put it on the floor."
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