Thilo Röhrig, chairman of the Blu-ray Group Germany, has used recent market statistics to underline why there has never been a better time for German consumers to make the jump to Blu-ray.

Hardware manufacturers sold four times as many Blu-ray Disc players in Germany in 2009 than they did in 2008, with Futuresource Consulting expecting further growth this year. Falling prices have also played a major role in the expansion of the market and the growth in the format’s popularity. “Blu-ray players and discs are so affordable now that the investment is worth it for anyone who enjoys movies,” said Röhrig. “With prices starting at €100, nobody need buy outdated technology anymore.”

Sales of discs have also increased as prices have fallen. According to BVV Medien, the average price of a Blu-ray Disc in Germany in 2009 was €19, 25 percent lower than the average in the previous year. “Demand for Blu-ray Discs reached a new dimension in 2009,” continues Röhrig. “6.2 million discs sold represents an increase of 274 percent compared to 2008.”

You can hear more from Thilo Röhrig in the German language press release.

In the second quarterly report (details on the first can be found here), Futuresource found that overall sales performance of both players and discs remains in line with expectations. Player sales are running close to three times 2008’s figure, and are expected to hit nearly three quarters of a million units by the end of the year.

The German BD market has shown particular strength as consumers embrace the platform faster than was anticipated. Sales of Blu-ray Discs in Germany are currently 3.7 times the level achieved in 2008. This growth is even faster than the other best performing European regions – such as the UK, where disc sales are three times greater than last year.

The report also looks at adoption of BD-Live. It found that Profile 2.0 models accounted for over half of all European BD player sales in the period from January to June. This share is expected to rise to 80% for the second half of the year. The report quotes impressive usage figures from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, who have had more than 6 million BD-Live users in total, and more than 100,000 weekly visitors to its BD-Live sites.

“We’re delighted to see Blu-ray Disc continue to meet or exceed expectations across Europe,” said Niels Leibbrandt, chairman of the BDA’s EU promotion committee. “These figures show that as awareness of the platform increases, more and more people across Europe are beginning to enjoy the unrivalled home entertainment experience BD provides. The figures put us in a strong position as the all-important Christmas period approaches and we move into 2010.”

With falling prices, increased retail promotion and growing awareness all helping to drive Blu-ray Disc demand across the continent, the report predicts that this figure will continue to rise. It is expected that over 20% of European homes will be BD enabled by the end of 2011.

In line with this growth, sales of BD movie titles are expected to top 31m by the end of 2009 – a more than three-fold increase on the 9m sales recorded in 2008.

European BD movie sales growth

The report also highlights that despite 47% of homes throughout Europe having high-definition resolution screens, only 6% are currently receiving HD quality broadcasts.

Commenting on the report, Niels Leibbrandt, chairman of the BDA EU promotion committee said; “We’re starting to see a seismic shift in uptake of BD, as people become more aware of the benefits of the format. The gap between those homes with high-definition screens and those currently receiving high-definition broadcast quality represents a fantastic opportunity for BD. If people want the image and sound quality of HD now, with no ongoing monthly investment, then a BD player is the best way to immediately bridge this gap.”

Futuresource also highlights that the Christmas sales period will continue to be important, with close to 50% of this year’s annual shipment of BD players expected in the final quarter of the year.

This is the first report of the Futuresource Blu-ray tracker prepared for the Blu-ray Disc Association. It will be issued every quarter over the next 12 months and you will hear about it here first on the official BD European blog.

Niels will be revealing more information and commentary on these findings at IFA 2009. To learn more check out our IFA 2009 page.

You may have noticed an earlier version of this post which had a different figure for the number of BD-enabled homes. This was due to an error in calculating responses and has now been corrected.