Video Firms Trade Sales-Underreporting Charges

Hollywood Entertainment Corp. said Tuesday that it filed court papers alleging Rentrak Corp. underreported the video store operator’s sales and rental data.

Rentrak and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Inc. have sued Hollywood Entertainment, which owns the Hollywood Video chain, alleging that the video renter has underreported sales figures.

In a filing late Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Hollywood Entertainment alleged that Rentrak--and not Hollywood Entertainment--has underreported Hollywood Entertainment’s sales and rentals.

Fox leases videocassettes to Rentrak, which then leases the videos under pay-per-transaction arrangements to retailers, such as Hollywood Entertainment.