DVD RENTALS RISE; SALES DECLINE

Home video rentals outpaced sales again during February, the research firm Centris said in a report on Monday. Centris, which calls itself a “market intelligence” company, said that 35.9 million households rented a new release during the month, versus 31.2 million that bought one. The report also noted that 18.3 million households rented a movie via their cable systems’ on-demand feature during the month and an additional 9.7 million via pay-per-view. In a related matter, Blockbuster, the nation’s largest “rentailer,” whose stock has fallen to 28 cents a share, said that it will propose a reverse stock split to shareholders at their annual meeting in Dallas on May 26. It must boost the price above $1.00 a share or face delisting from the New York Stock Exchange.