Word: videodiscs
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...consumer electronics business has produced some fierce marketing wars, but none is likely to be quite so cutthroat as the struggle that is starting for control of the videodisc industry. Videodisc players look much like any stereo deck, but, plugged into a TV, they play prerecorded movies, sports events, opera, sitcoms and documentaries. They promise to advance significantly the cause of viewers' lib, giving TV addicts freedom to watch what they want when they want to watch...
...license, CBS will manufacture discs to be played on RCA machines. This will give CBS, the nation's largest record maker, entry into the business. RCA will win not only royalty fees but also the support of CBS, which spent months looking at the systems of both videodisc competitors. Now CBS's library of programs will be available to owners of RCA machines...
...addition, RCA has signed licensing agreements with nearly 20 Japanese and European companies, including Plessey in Britain and Matsushita in Japan. Of course, Magnavox, a subsidiary of North American Philips, has not been idle. Sony has a license to use Magnavox's videodisc technology, and the U.S. company also has a longstanding deal with MCA, the parent of Universal Pictures, to make its discs...
...coast to coast by early 1981. RCA has not sold a single unit yet, but is aiming for nationwide launch at about the same time. The stakes will be high. Every one of the 72 million U.S. homes that now have TV sets is a potential customer for a videodisc system. On an estimated 30% to 50% penetration of that market by the end of the decade, RCA projects industry annual sales of 5 million to 6 million players and 200 to 250 million discs. Potential total revenues: more than $7.5 billion a year...