Creatives Minister Celebrates BVA's Anniversary

Creative Industries Minister Ed Vaizey has attended BAFTA to address the British Video Association Council (BVA) as they celebrated their 30th anniversary as the trade association for the video entertainment industry.
Industry guru David Elstein also addressed guests at the AGM which commemorated 30 years of evolving video entertainment, as well as celebrated the plethora of choice in format and content delivery channels now available to consumers, making video entertainment more accessible than ever before.
The video industry has a retail value of over £2.6 billion in the UK, putting video in third place in terms of consumer leisure spend, after cable and satellite combined subscriptions and the TV licence fee, and ahead of expenditure on video games, music and cinema.
The position is well deserved as the industry provides a huge choice of content - around 8,000 new titles released in a year - to suit all tastes and ages. Increasingly, all these titles can be accessed on new digital services including video-on-demand and downloads-to-own, as well as packaged media like DVD and Blu-ray.
Commenting at the event, Lavinia Carey, Director General of the BVA, said: "The last 30 years have propelled the video entertainment industry towards unparalleled achievements in technology, creativity and diversity, meaning consumers have more choice than ever before, not only in what they watch, but when, where and how. Today, we can view content on the bus, in a cafe or the park, as well as in top quality at home, using the different types of technology now available to us. It is a very exciting time and the BVA is proud to have played its role in the evolution of the video sector over the last 30 years."
Minister for the Creative Industries Ed Vaizey said: "I'm delighted to be able to take part today in commemorating 30 years of the BVA's work. This is an impressive milestone and a reminder that the video entertainment industry has gone from strength to strength, keeping pace with rapid changes in technology and the increasing demands of audiences. I'm proud to champion the UK's creative industries, which make such an important cultural and economic contribution and will be a key player in the country's growth in the digital era."
(KMcA)