U.S. online movie downloads pass TV show sales for first time; DVD sales slip further

Despite an overall decline in spending on home entertainment, online movie downloads increased 38 percent in 2010, earning more than downloaded TV shows for the first time ever.

IHS Screen Digest said Americans spent $385 million on movies they bought or downloaded on the Internet last year, up from $280 million in 2009; TV shows downloaded or purchased totaled $366 million last year, up over the $295 million spent in 2009.

DVD sales, meanwhile, continued to spiral downward. According to IHS, DVD sales were $14 billion in 2010, a drop of 11 percent from a year ago.

Across the board, purchases of media for home entertainment use declined to $18.8 billion, off some 3 percent on the year.

The report also showed that Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) rode the back of its Xbox gaming console to an increase in market share, claiming 17.9 percent, up from 11.6 percent last year. Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iTunes, on the other hand, saw its share decline; while it's still the segment leader with 64.5 percent of the market, it's down from last year's 74.4 percent.

Sony's (NYSE: SNE) PlayStation 3 and Wal-mart's (NYSE: WMT) Vudu rounded out the top four spots.

For more:
- see this L.A. Times article

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Apple continues to dominate online movie market in U.S.; Vudu a dark horse in race