Sony Brings Fitness To Dvd

NEW YORK‹Sony Music Video, already deep into DVD, is expanding its coverage to include fitness.
Scoring a marketplace first, SMV has scheduled the release of "Kathy Smith: Kickboxing Workout" on May 18 at $24.98 suggested list, one month after the $14.98 VHS edition.
DVD has largely been limited to movies, other than a smattering of nontheatrical titles. The workout genre, off its peak but still prominent on cassette, has been ignored thus far.
SMV is going to its strength with Smith, who has dominated the fitness charts for more than a decade. She joined the SMV roster last year after a lengthy stint on the Warner Home Video label. Kickboxing, too, is strong, as witness the success of Tae-Bo (Shelf Talk, Billboard, Feb. 27), which began grabbing sales two months ago.
"The timing is right," says Alex Beeman, marketing VP for SMV and Sony Wonder. She will follow with a second Smith DVD title in November, in time for the annual post-holiday exercise binge, and is talking to MTV about a contribution from the "Grind" series that SMV distributes. "Fitness fits perfectly" into DVD because of all the options "it allows you," according to Beeman.
Those include customized workouts, tailored to the viewer's fitness level; multi-angle tutorials that illu-strate each move; and a choice of music or instructional soundtracks. The total running time is about double the 45-minute tape.
SMV isn't missing the opportunity to promote Smith's VHS titles, some 20 of which are sampled on the disc. "This is definitely a cross-sell for us," Beeman adds. "We make it easy for the customer."