In the mix

STEPHEN EINHORN

President,

New Line Home Video

It was a challenging year, but we did meet our goals and objectives -- but we were conservative in how we viewed the business. It was still a good year for home video.

Even my wife and kids come home and say, “Oh, the decline in the DVD business....” But it’s not declining at all -- the trend is still upward. Still, a greater percentage of retail sales are occurring more rapidly, and it’s occurring at a lower average price. That is not a positive development ... I think both retailers and studios are looking for ways to differentiate their product. [One tool: more and more “bonus” DVD features. The problem with all that additional programming, though, is that it leaves less time to watch other DVD titles, Einhorn says.]

While the business has grown as a whole, that does cause consumers to spread out their purchases [he says, noting annual purchase rates are declining.]

I don’t think too many people have [high-definition DVD players] in their business plan, because it’s so unpredictable. I don’t think we’ll see a decline in aggregate spending [in 2006]. I think it’s going to grow.