Nimbus Expands DVD Replication Into Europe; DVD Joins Japan's CCC
GROWTH PHASE: Nimbus International is pumping more money into its infant DVD business, this time to build a European presence.
The Charlottesville, Va., replicator has earmarked $4 million-$5 million to expand an existing CD plant near Cardiff, Wales. The addition should be up and running when DVD launches in the U.K. and on the Continent this spring. Nimbus chairman/CEO Lyndon Faulkner rates its capacity at 5 million discs, about one-third the optimum output of his U.S. operation.
Faulkner acknowledges that there are swings in production efficiency that can knock a couple of million units off Charlottesville's maximum of 15 million. Some of the problems he attributes to post-production houses that haven't fully mastered compression and authoring.
Glitches aside, Nimbus cranked out about 300 titles on 1.3 million discs this year, most of them since September. Only Warner Advanced Media Operations has produced more, an estimated 4 million units. Faulkner won't discuss clients, but Nimbus is known to press for Anchor Bay Entertainment, Fox Lorber, and Simitar. And a little retail sleuthing reveals that the company also does Disney titles. Seeking more of the same, Faulkner continues to woo Paramount and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Hollywood's two DVD holdouts. 'I'm out there every week,' he says.
Paramount has committed to Divx and could run into Nimbus there as well. Faulkner has been a paid consultant on the disposable disc project. 'Technically, it's feasible,' says Faulkner, who won't comment on Divx's commercial prospects but thinks 'they'll be using CES to make some announcements.' (The Consumer Electronics Show is Jan 8-11 in Las Vegas.)
Nimbus is automating as fast as it can except in one area: packaging. Faulkner wants to wait until a major client commits to either Warner Media's 'snapper' box or Amaray's 'keeper case' with a locking hub, the two packages he thinks will dominate. If neither is a clear choice, Nimbus may automate both by summer.
PINNED: Coliseum Video, the premium provider of wrestling tapes, has fought its last match. Sources close to the New York-based company confirm that it's shutting down and that the World Wrestling Federation will take over distribution of the programs licensed to Coliseum since the early '80s. Sales executive Neil Moss reportedly has joined independent Xenon Entertainment, headquartered in Los Angeles.
Industry veteran Arthur Morowitz, who served two terms as president of the Video Software Dealers Assn., still owns a substantial movie library, but his interest in video has largely vanished. Morowitz created, and then sold, one of the first retail chains, with its flagship at Broadway and 49th Street in Manhattan. The site, long closed, has been torn down to be replaced by a venue for magician David Copperfield.
A FIRST STEP: Culture Convenience Club (CCC), Japan's largest rental chain, introduces DVD to two of its Tsutaya stores this month. The trial will be extended to 10 locations in early 1998 and all outlets by spring, when 200-300 titles should be available for rental from Warner Home Video and others. Sales of DVD players and software have been sluggish (Picture This, Billboard, Dec. 20).
As part of its strategy, CCC has sold 20% stakes in its Culture Publishers subsidiary to hardware manufacturers Toshiba and Matsushita for a total of $4 million. The money will help launch Culture Publishers as a software provider, using Toshiba and Matsushita authoring, encoding, and mastering capabilities. Also, both partners plan to accelerate production of their own rental titles.
DVDOINGS: Universal Studios Home Video is readying 12 titles for Feb. 24 delivery. Prices vary. Special editions of 'Apollo 13' and 'Dragonheart' will be $34.98 suggested list; a dual-layer edition of 'Casino' and the 'Xena Trilogy' from the 'Hercules: The Legendary Journeys' TV series, $26.98; and 'National Lampoon's Animal House,' 'Conan The Barbarian,' 'Happy Gilmore,' 'High Plains Drifter,' 'Kull The Conqueror,' and two episodes from 'Hercules: The Legendary Journeys,' 'Hercules & Xena--The Animated Movie: The Battle For Mount Olympus,' and 'Young Hercules,' $24.98.
Columbia TriStar ships 'Air Force One,' 'The Devil's Own,' and 'Fools Rush In' Feb. 10 at $24.95 . . . LIVE Entertainment streets 'Critical Care,' 'Capricorn One,' and 'Universal Soldier' Feb. 17 at $29.98 . . . New Line Home Video expands its Platinum Series line next year with new releases 'Boogie Nights,' 'Wag The Dog,' and 'American History X' and catalog titles 'Nightmare On Elm Street' and 'Short Cuts.' Platinum entries are wide-screen with at least three of the following features: audio commentary tracks, a behind-the scenes featurette, deleted scenes, story board comparisons, original animation, original music composition, or music videos from acts on the soundtrack . . . Disney's Feb. 3 delivery includes 'Sling Blade,' 'Crimson Tide,' 'The Crow,' 'Crow II: City Of Angels, and 'While You Were Sleeping,' at $29.99.

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