“Simpsons” boxed sets? Sure. “Friends”? Of course. “Sex and the City”? Naturally.
TV shows on DVD are the hottest category in the home entertainment business. And that’s before Season 1 of CBS’ sturdy hit “Everybody Loves Raymond” lands Sept. 14 and the first three seasons of “Seinfeld” hit the retail market Nov. 23.
In all, the TV-on-DVD business is expected to hit $1.2 billion in revenue this year.
By midyear 2003, there were 153 TV DVD titles available; at midyear this year, that number had risen to 415, according to data compiled by Fox Home Entertainment. Even with the presence of two cable channels devoted solely to repeats and numerous others that feature a steady diet of older TV, audiences are flocking to their favorite shows on DVD in ballooning numbers.
Even underachieving shows find new life on DVDs.
Some are shows that faded into network TV memory. Universal has sold more than 150,000 copies, at $119 apiece, of the 1978-80 series “Battlestar Galactica,” which aired just 24 episodes on ABC. “Boomtown,” which lasted just 1 1/2 seasons on NBC, has recently been issued in a boxed set.
Coming soon are complete collections of short-lived Fox series such as “Keen Eddie,” “Greg the Bunny” and “Harsh Realm,” none of which lasted more than a season.
Other releases are coming for shows that are still on the air but could use a boost. Season 1 of NBC’s “American Dreams,” which this season ranks 69th among network prime-time shows, is being issued Sept. 7, complete with extended musical performances. And the first season of critically acclaimed but largely unwatched “Arrested Development” is due out Oct. 19, just in time to hype the show’s second season.
“For shows like ‘Arrested Development,’ ’24’ and even ‘The Shield,’ they are part of a multiunit initiative,” says Steve Feldstein, senior vice president at Fox Home Entertainment. “When it comes to us releasing TV DVDs, we’re working closely with the network and the production unit. Events are coordinated. It just makes sense.”
It may just be network programmers’ itchy trigger finger that spurred this TV-on-DVD torrent. Shows often get pulled off the air just at the point when they’re entering the consciousness of many viewers.
“Some people don’t get to see the first episodes, or they catch it in midseason, second season,” says Thomas Lesinski, president of worldwide home entertainment for Paramount Pictures. “They lose continuity, and they want to get the whole flavor.”
———-
Edited by Cara DiPasquale (cdipasquale@tribune.com) and Victoria Rodriguez (vrodriguez@tribune.com)
