Adult Video News Buyerвђ™s Guide 1986-87 Online
The serves as a vital historical artifact, documenting a transformative period in the adult film industry and the broader home video revolution. Published just a few years after the founding of AVN magazine in 1983, this guide provided a comprehensive index for a market rapidly moving from theaters to private living rooms. Context and Industry Impact
By the mid-1980s, the "Golden Age of Porn" was concluding, replaced by the "Video Age". The 1986-87 period was particularly significant due to several factors: Adult Video News Buyer’s Guide 1986-87
: This guide immediately preceded the landmark 1987 case California v. Freeman , which effectively legalized hardcore pornography production in the United States, leading to even further commercialization. Key Features of the Guide The serves as a vital historical artifact, documenting
: In 1986, roughly 77% of video stores carried adult content. For retailers, these guides were indispensable for navigating a flood of thousands of new titles that were much cheaper to produce than the film-based predecessors. The 1986-87 period was particularly significant due to
: The adult industry played a pivotal role in the "format war," favoring VHS over Betamax because of its longer recording times, which allowed full-length features to fit on a single tape.
While rare today, the 1986-87 Buyer's Guide is noted for its extensive cataloging of early adult media:
