Sony Goes Direct to Close Blu-ray Price Gap

Hoping to spur sales of Blu-ray DVDs by an increasingly cost-conscious environment, Sony Corp. (SNE) has begin issuing discount sheets of coupons that price the discs at roughly the same as their predecessors.

The manufacturer’s $3-per-title instant coupons for such titles as The Pink Panther, Hancock, Step Brothers and Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, among others, are the latest in multifaceted marketing efforts for content in Blu-ray format that includes TV ads and in-store messaging.

While near-price parity for the higher quality DVDs may increase customer awareness of Blu-ray in general, it remains to be seen if consumers first buy Blu-ray players, and then discs, in a seriously troubled economy where countless cheaper alternatives to owning DVDs exist.

The cost of new release DVDs, after the movies leave the theaters, is roughly in the high teens, but Blu-ray versions are typically several dollars higher, which is likely to have triggered the Sony effort and prompt other content owners to follow suit.

Looking to control and/or cut entertainment expenses, many households have chosen cheaper DVD rental services, pay video-on-demand (VoD) and now Redbox $1 a night rentals in place of buying new DVDs outright.

The coupon sheets from Sony are being distributed via Sunday newspapers in major metro area, such as Boston.

Over-the-top options, which deliver movies via the Web to TVs, often with the help of special boxes, have proven popular of late as an alternative to buying premium movie channels and packages from TV service providers.

Collectively, these options present serious challenges to telco and cable TV providers who are looking for revenue beyond monthly service charges and equipment rentals. Pay VoD, which can provide pay movies for $4 to $5 a night from operator servers, has been seen as a far cheaper alternative than visiting theaters or actually buying DVDs.

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