America’s Ubiquitous Home Videos : CAMCORDER SALES ON UPSWING AS ABC SHOW HITS BIG

Television audiences aren’t the only ones amused by “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” ABC’s smash TV show featuring home-grown video clips sent in by viewers. The manufacturers of portable video cameras, better known as camcorders, are laughing too-all he way to the bank.

In February, “Videos” zipped by “Roseanne” and “The Cosby Show” in fast-forward to finish No. 1 in the national ratings, where it has hovered ever since.

The very next month, a normally slow sales month for camcorders, a whopping 222,417 units were sold to distributors across the country, up 38% from the same time a year ago, according to the Electronics Industry Assn. Analysts are calling March one of the greatest sales months in the history of camcorders.

“I think slowly but surely camcorder sales will increase as a result of ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos,’ ” said Tom Adams, entertainment consultant for the Carmel-based Paul Kagan Associates. “TV is the great trend-setter. The use of products on programs are what enshrine them as part of the American family scene. There hasn’t really been a show based around the use of a product before, probably because there hasn’t been a product as much fun as a camcorder.”

There is no conclusive link between the popularity of “Videos” on the airwaves and the recent surge of camcorder sales in video stores. Sales were on the rise before “Videos” premiered, and local retailers contacted for this story said they see no indication that the new TV show is influencing camcorder sales.

But there are some who say that the hit Sunday night TV show, which awards $10,000 a week to the most wacky home video, may be a factor.

“I don’t have any evidence except for the industry figures,” editor David Lachenbruch of the industry newsletter Television Digest said. “March was a record month. I can’t say that ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos’ was responsible, but the show will ultimately make some kind of impact on the market. People are becoming more and more conscious of camcorders because of it.”

Early this year, EIA forecast a modest 8.5% increase in camcorder sales. But that was before “America’s Funniest Home Videos” debuted on Jan. 14. On the strength of March sales orders, which reflect heavy consumer buying during January and February, year-to-date sales are already up by about 19%-more than double what the association predicted.

“In my gut, I have a feeling that we’re somewhat responsible for the rise in camcorder sales,” “Videos” producer Vin De Bona said. “When we watch the videos that come in, we hear a lot of side comments. We have a video where a kid sitting in a kitchen sink accidentally gets a mouthful of soapy water during his bath. Right away, the mother says, “We have to send this to ‘America’s Funniest Home Videos.’ You have to be able to translate those kind of background voices into the realization that the camcorder is becoming an important part of the family.”

In the video hardware market, camcorders are a major growth product, while VCR sales have been on the decline. About 10% of the 92 million homes in the United States have a camcorder. In 1985, 517,000 units were sold by manufacturers to distributors. That number swelled to 2.3 million by the end of last year.

The producers of “Videos” are doing their part to ensure that the camcorder explosion continues to blossom. ABC and “CA, the show’s sponsor, regularly distribute coupons to retailers enticing video-camera buyers to send in their funny home-video footage. Host Bob Saget gives TV viewers tips on how to properly operate a camcorder.

“CA camcorders have even been distributed to ABC’s top 50 affiliate stations so that viewers can come in and check them out for no charge. The gimmick is supposed to provide home-video yucks for the TV show, but it also works as a promotion for “CA.

“(TVideos’) does give people one more reason to buy a camcorder,” Adams said. “If people were thinking about buying one, it tips the scales in their favor. A show like that sort of legitimizes the expense to some extent. It gives people the impression that everyone has a camcorder and is taking pictures of their kids, and therefore you’re a jerk if you don’t have one too.”

Viewers will soon have more incentive to buy camcorders and stock up on videotape, as the video bandwagon shifts into high gear. Make sure the lens cap is off your camcorder so you won’t miss R$1,000,000 Video Challenge,” “Camcorder Kids,” “The Amazing World of Video” and the Spanish-language “La Vida Es Una Risa”Qall new TV shows now in development.

MANUFACTURER TO DISTRIBUTOR CAMCORDER SALES: 1985: 517,000 1986: 1.1 million 1987: 1.6 million 1988: 2 million 1989: 2.3 million 1990: 2.5 million (projected) Source: Electronics Industry Assn.