South Korea electronics manufacturer LG has decided to stop manufacturing Blu-Ray players as more consumers shift away from physical media to cloud-based options.
LG was one of the last manufacturers of Blu-Ray and Ultra HD Blu-Ray players after rival electronics companies Samsung and Sony stopped making the devices a while ago.
DVD and Blu-Ray discs have found favor with some TV and film fans, as the discs allow them uninterrupted access to shows and movies in an era when streaming services continue to shuffle through content and online video rental stores pull titles amid licensing disputes.
Still, most consumers find the convenience of streaming services alluring, and DVD and Blu-Ray sales have suffered over the past few years. Blu-Ray sales peaked in 2017, bringing in around $4.7 billion in sales. The Walt Disney Company was one major film studio that sold a high volume of films on DVD and Blu-Ray; that year, the company affirmed plans to launch its own streaming service, Disney Plus, and physical media sales began to tumble a short time later.
In 2022, DVD and Blu-Ray sales brought in $1.5 billion to studios, according to Digital Entertainment Group. Last year, Disney stopped offering new titles on Blu-Ray discs.
With fewer studios putting out films and shows on Blu-Ray and DVD, LG sees no reason to continue making them, though the company says it won’t ask retailers to pull existing inventory from their shelves, and it can start making Blu-Ray players again if there is future demand for the format.
