Warner Bros. Weighing HD DVD Offer?
The Los Angeles Times says so, quoting "Hollywood insiders."
By Swanni
Washington, D.C. (September 10, 2007) -- Warner Bros is considering a "lucrative offer" to back HD DVD exclusively in the high-def disc format war.
That's according to an article in today's Los Angeles Times.
Warner Bros. is now releasing titles in both Blu-ray and HD DVD and the studio has preached that the two-format approach has led to increased sales of such titles as The Departed.
But the surprise departure last month of Steve Nickerson, Warner Home Video's senior vice president for High-Definition, has raised speculation that the studio may be reconsidering its policy. Nickerson was an outspoken booster of the two-format approach in the high-def war.
The Times writes that "Hollywood insiders" say Warner is "mulling over a lucrative offer that could bring such popular titles as
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix into the HD DVD camp." The newspaper doesn't say, but the offer is presumably from Toshiba, the leading backer of the HD DVD format.
If Warner were to endorse HD DVD exclusively, it would follow similar exclusive endorsements last month from Paramount and DreamWorks. (Universal is also backing HD DVD exclusively while four major studios are supporting Blu-ray exclusively.)
While a Warner switch would seriously boost HD DVD's chances in the high-def format war, the Times reports that the Blu-ray side is also busy trying to line up exclusive deals with studios and retailers.
Wal-Mart, the newspaper said, had set a mid-August deadline for deciding which format to keep in its stores; it now carries both players. But Toshiba supposedly offered a large promotional budget to support HD DVD sales in a recent meeting at Wal-Mart headquarters.
Wal-Mart would not comment on that, but told the Times that "it would be good for the studios or somebody to make the call
(on the high-def format war.)."