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Fitness DVDs generated $297.2 million in sales
last year and are likely to remain popular with older audiences,
according to market researchers, even as the industry’s giants
turn their focus to Web-based technology.
“Every time I do a (DVD) shoot, I think this will be the last
one, but we keep meeting our revenue goals,” said Miami-based
fitness instructor Jessica Smith, whose company JessicaSmithTV
produces streaming and DVD fitness videos.
“'Please don’t stop selling DVDs' is something I hear from fans
all the time," she added.
Fueled by aging baby boomers, fitness DVD production grew at an
annual rate of 7.7 percent in the five years to 2014, a report
by market research company IBIS World showed.
The company predicts growth will slow to 3.8 percent in the next
five years, as streaming competition increases and fitness DVD
giants like Gaiam boost their investments in Web-based formats.
“I'd say streaming is an option for almost all providers of
fitness content at this point,” Smith said. “Everybody offers
some form of streaming in some way or another."
Smith puts her DVD demographic at 55 years and older.
“The DVD audience is a little older. They want the physical
DVD,” said Smith. “The bulk of our YouTube audience is younger.”
Some home exercisers, especially outside of big cities, lack
Internet service fast enough to download and play streaming
videos in real time, she added.
But Donna Cyrus, senior vice president of programming for Crunch
Fitness, believes the popularity of DVDs will decrease.
“Because of the Internet, it’s a lot easier to access
streaming,” said Cyrus, whose company streams some 60 fitness
classes from Pilates to yoga to hip-hop over its live
subscription service.
“We saw a huge drop” in DVD sales, Cyrus said, “but we still
sell them on Amazon.”
Both Cyrus and Smith believe the future for streaming is bright,
especially if the workouts reach a huge platform, such as Apple
TV, Hulu or Netflix.
“Long-term, I want to expand my YouTube presence and partner
with a large brand,” said Smith. “You always have to be looking
two steps ahead, but I don’t want to change too quickly. There’s
still a market for DVDs.”
(Editing by Patricia Reaney and Jonathan Oatis)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
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