DVD push for the holidays
Promo campaign heralds 1 millionth sale
With the 1 millionth DVD player now on its way to a store shelf, eight companies -- Best Buy, the Good Guys!, the Wiz, Toshiba, Hollywood Entertainment, West Coast Entertainment, New Line Home Video and Warner Home Video -- have teamed on a campaign that aims to push holiday shoppers to buy the potential replacement to the VCR.
The promotion, which runs Nov. 15-Dec. 31, is designed to entice consumers with lower-priced players ($299 for basic models) packaged with free DVD discs and rentals. Most players average around $400.
Consumers who purchase any featured DVD player at Best Buy, the Wiz or the Good Guys! will receive five free DVD discs plus a coupon book with 13 free DVD rental coupons redeemable at Hollywood Entertainment or West Coast Entertainment.
Warners and New Line are providing the discs -- "Lost in Space," "Sphere," "U.S. Marshalls," "Eraser" and "City of Angels" -- noted for their added fea-tures, including trailers, cast biographies, commentaries and behind-the-scenes footage.
More than 370,000 DVD players have been sold since August, according to the Consumer Electronics Manufacturers Assn. CEMA expects 750,000 players to sell by the end of the year and 2 million players to be purchased by mid-1999.
