For the first time ever, yearly revenue generated from movie downloads and video streaming subscriptions will surpass those of DVD rentals and sales in the US according to a report from consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
PWC said it expects revenue from digital delivery to rise 13 percent this year to $9.5 billion before climbing to $12 billion by 2017. Sales and rentals of physical media, meanwhile, will slide to $7.8 billion by the end of the year.
Perhaps the only reason that DVDs have hung around this long is Redbox. The popular kiosk for DVDs, Blu-ray and video game rentals has proven incredibly successful with nearly 44,000 locations still in operation.
Redbox was forced to raise its prices late last year to $1.50 per day for a DVD to compensate for declining rental rates. Even still, it's an affordable option for many that lack access to a speedy broadband connection required for video streaming.
Just last year, streaming music overtook CD sales in the US. The Recording Industry Association of America reported that streaming revenue hit $1.87 billion last year. In contrast, sales of CDs brought in slightly less at $1.85 billion. Music sales as a whole, however, fell 0.5 percent to $6.79 billion.
Have you made the jump to streaming video yet or are you clinging to your DVD / CD collection for dear life? Let us know your preferences in the comments sections below.