French VoD market laps Blu-Ray, tops EUR 210 mln/y - study

France's VoD market outstripped Blu-Ray sales of EUR 210 million in 2011, according to GfK and French video publishers' association SEVN. VoD choice rose steeply, with 20,000 programmes available at the end of the year, including over 6,500 films. The closure of Megaupload and other streaming sites could have a positive impact on the legal offer. SEVN is seeking lower VAT for all video products, DVDs, Blu-ray and VoD, currently taxed at 19.6 percent, compared to 5.5 percent for cinema seats. The organisation estimates that overall DVD, Blu-ray and VoD revenues fell by 2.9 percent to EUR 1.49 billion in 2011, compared to EUR 1.53 billion a year earlier, partly due to fewer video releases, particularly in the DVD format, and piracy.