In other announcement news today, 20th Century Fox has set Shut In for release on Blu-ray and DVD on 2/28, with a Digital HD release due on 2/21.

Shout! Factory has set Invasion of the Bee Girls for Blu-ray release on 4/4, followed by Never Too Young to Die, Demented, and The Vampire on 4/11, and Man of La Mancha, Exterminator 2, Screaming Skull, and I Bury the Living on 4/25.

Shout! has also announced new Shout Select titles for release in April, including The Pink Panther Film Collection Starring Peter Sellers box set (includes all six feature films in the series – The Pink Panther, A Shot in the Dark, The Return of the Pink Panther, The Pink Panther Strikes Again, Revenge of the Pink Panther, and Trail of the Pink Panther – plus tons of extras) on 4/11 and The Handmaid’s Tale on 4/18.

Now then, the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG) release its year-end 2016 Home Entertainment Report last night, and there’s some interesting numbers to report...

• Total U.S. home entertainment spending topped $18 billion for the year.

• First-year sales data shows consumers are enthusiastically embracing 4K Disc content, purchasing films and TV shows at a faster pace than they did in HD-Disc format when it was introduced.

• 4K Ultra HD products debuted strongly in their first year. Some 10 million 4K Ultra HD TVs shipped, representing nearly $10 billion, and are projected to reach 30 million units by the end of 2017. Approximately 300,000 Ultra HD Blu-ray players shipped accounting for $66 million. (Source: CTA – Consumer Technology Association)

• The number of 4K Ultra HD titles available to consumers continues to grow. There are now 110 4K Ultra HD titles in the market, with 250 titles projected by the DEG to be available in 2017.

• Over 2 million 4K Ultra HD Discs were sold to consumers in the U.S.

• HDTV penetration is now at more than 112 million households of which 16 million are 4K Ultra HD TVs. All Blu-ray playback devices (including set-tops and game consoles) are at 88 million U.S. households. [Editor’s Note: There are an estimated 118 TV households total in the U.S. according to Nielsen, so that’s 95% market penetration.]

• Overall electronic sell-through (EST) spending rose 5% for the year. Theatrical content was especially strong on EST, showing growth of 17% year-over-year.

• Video on Demand (VOD) was up 6% to $2.1 billion in 2016, with the category returning to growth after falling nearly 3% in 2015.

• Subscription VOD (SVOD) was up 26% in the fourth quarter of 2016 compared to 2015 and up about 22% year-over-year.

• Sell-Through of Packaged Goods was down 9.5% for the year, but Digital (streaming, VOD, Electronic Sell-Thru) was up 15.2%.

• Total U.S. Home Entertainment Spending was up 1.4%, while U.S. Box Office was up 11.6%

Also, here’s a little bit of additional market information from the Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA)...

• 4K UHD TV shipments increased by more than 80% last year, and 40% growth expected in 2017

• 1 in 4 U.S. households anticipated to have 4K UHD TV by end of 2017

• For the first time, surveyed consumers’ #1 wanted feature is 4K UHD

All right, so there we go. By the way, the DEG last night announced the winners of their annual DEG Awards (for which I was once again honored to serve as a judge). They are as follows...

• Best 4K UHD Blu-ray: Deadpool (Fox)

• Best New-Release Blu-ray: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Disney)

• Best New Release on Digital HD: Sully (Warner)

• Best Classic Reissue on Blu-ray: Star Trek: 50th Anniversary TV & Movie Collection (Paramount)

• Best Classic Reissue on Digital HD: Beauty and the Beast: 25th Anniversary (Disney)

• Best TV on Blu-ray: ESPN 30 for 30: O.J. Made in America (Cinedigm)

• Best Concert Video on Blu-ray: U2: iNNOCENVE + eXPERIENCE Live in Paris (Universal Music Group)

• Best Hi-Res Audio Download: Led Zeppelin: The Complete BBC Sessions (Warner Music Group)

The additional Emiel N. Petrone product awards for 2016 include...

• Best 4K Ultra HD TV: LG OLED B6

• Best Sound Bar: Samsung HW-K950 Soundbar with Dolby Atmos

• Best Ultra HD Blu-ray Player: Samsung UBD-K8500 Blu-ray Player

• Best Hi-Res Audio Product: Onkyo DP-X1 Portable Hi-Res Music Player

There’s also a new DEG Award this year for Best Digital Product or Service Innovation. The disc replicator Sonopress won this for helping to create the 100GB Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc.

Finally today, we have a look at a bunch of new Blu-ray (and 4K UHD Blu-ray) cover artwork, with Amazon.com pre-order links if available...

That’s all for this week. Back Monday after we recover from CES. Cheers!

- Bill Hunt (@BillHuntBits)