Blu-ray sales to soar at expense of TVs

Sales of standalone Blu-ray players in the five biggest markets in Europe will triple this year to over 1.8 million, according to research firm Futuresource.

But its research also indicates that consumers could choose smaller flatscreens TVs to cut costs. Retailers have had to slash prices of TVs over 42-inches by as much as a quarter in the last year, according to Futuresource. Meanwhile, analysts DisplaySearch report that 52-inch screens sold on the internet in September dropped around a third of their value.

DisplaySearch also predict that sales of standalone Blu-ray players will overtake sale of the PlayStation3 - also capable of playing Blu-ray discs - by 2010.

“Without doubt, we are in the middle of one of the worst economic downturns in living memory but still all market indicators point towards strong growth in Blu-ray Disc player sales for the remainder of 2008 and continuing into 2009,” said the Blu-ray Disc Association European Promotion Group’s chairman, Frank Simonis. “It is an illustration of the format’s appeal that it can withstand the current economic maelstrom and continue to establish itself throughout the European zone.”