Competitive prices, lack of movie choices affect local video retailers

A war is raging -- without an arsenal.

Slashing prices is the only method of attack in the competition between video retailers, inspired by the recent drop in the rate of video rentals.

Video rental spending is expected to rise by just a 0.4 percent annual rate by 2006, down from 2.4 percent last year, according to Paul Kaman Associates in an on-line news article.

Possible reasons for this decrease are numerous: competition from services such as pay-per-view and satellite television, a growing number of stores and, sometimes, a dislike for the selection of videos available in stores.

Whatever the reason, video businesses all over the country are feeling the effects.

The intense competition between Blockbuster Video, the biggest chain in the industry with 4,000 stores in the United States alone, and the up-and-coming Hollywood Video, which has 837 locations nationwide, has made these stores the leaders in price reductions.

Both Blockbuster Video, 1101 N. Atherton St., and Hollywood Video, 724 S. Atherton St., as well as their corporate offices, could not be reached for comment.

Smaller businesses in State College have also cut prices in reaction to the present situation.

Saieva said renting an older movie for two nights at A-Z Video has gone down in price from $1.50 to $0.99, and new movies are now $2.98 a night. New releases used to cost $3.25 per night.

The cheaper prices have led some students to rent more often than they usually would.

Amy Falck (sophomore-business) said she rents videos once a week because of the recent decrease in prices, adding that she prefers the local Hollywood Video because of the low rates it offers.

Other students choose a store based on its location.

"I usually go to Mike's (Movies and Music, 210 E. Calder Way) because it's the closest one to my dorm," said Shawna Daigle (freshman-computer science). "A lot of the other places are a lot further downtown."

Some retailers are hopeful, as the recent box-office surge indicates a brighter future for video stores and a possible cease-fire in the price-cutting wars.

Tom McAdoo, the general manager of Mike's Movies and Music, 210 E. Calder Way, said he has not experienced any significant decrease in sales during the past year.

"I'm still optimistic about video rentals," he said.