The future of physical media looks like its shifting towards smaller retailers and a more niche market. According to The Digital Bits, retailer Best Buy will no longer sell or carry Blu-Ray or 4K discs starting sometime in 2024. The retailer has been known in recent years for its partnership with SteelBook to make collector’s editions of discs. The sources from Digital Bits are anonymous, so for now, until we hear something officially from Best Buy, it’s still just speculation.
This comes on the heels of Target getting rid of physical media areas of their stores entirely. They haven’t come out and said they’ll stop selling the physical discs though. For those who love Blu-Ray and 4K, it’s not really the end of the world, though. There are plenty of places that still sell and support physical media. It’s really more of a reflection on Best Buy and other stores as places to get these items. Amazon has really cornered the market.
Places like DiabolikDVD, OrbitDVD, and boutique labels like Shout Studios and Vinegar Syndrome are the likely home for physical media in the future. With streaming services taking over, but proving to be extraordinarily costly, physical releases are still a major option for studios going forward to recoup money on projects. Disney has long been apprehensive about Blu-Ray and 4K, but is now opening up to release special editions of their Disney+ Star Wars and Marvel shows.
The sky is not falling, it’s just a changing landscape. Headlines like this might sound scary to people who love movies and TV on disc, but you’ll just have to rethink the ways you pick up your Blu-ray or 4K discs. Walmart, no matter what you think of them, are the biggest seller of physical media in the United States, even over Amazon.
So for all the Chicken Littles out there, relax a bit, it’s not the end of Blu-ray and 4K as we know it.
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