So yesterday, we reported that Warner Bros will support Blu-ray exclusively effective June. This move grants Blu-ray to obtain 70% of the high definition player market, unofficially making them the winners in this short, but seemingly long race.
It does not stop there, however, this is creating heavy waves throughout the industry, heavy enough to force the HD DVD camp to discontinue their CES 2008 press event.
“Based on the timing of the Warner Home Video announcement today, we have decided to postpone our CES 2008 press conference scheduled for Sunday, January 6th at 8:30 p.m. in the Wynn Hotel. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
We are currently discussing the potential impact of this announcement with the other HD DVD partner companies and evaluating next steps. We believe the consumer continues to benefit from HD DVD’s commitment to quality and affordability – a bar that is critical for the mainstream success of any format.
We’ll continue to keep you updated on new developments around HD DVD.”
Make of that what you want, but it is clear that HD DVD for the first time is reevaluating the situation with the possibility that they might just have to pull out. However, while Warner is shifting towards Blu-ray, this does not mean that their subsidiary companies of New Line, HBO, and BBC will also show 100% love to Blu-ray. President Kevin Tsujihara of Warner Home Entertainment explains, "They’ll be making whatever decision they’re going to make," said Tsujihara. "I assume they’ll let people know very quickly, but they are not covered by this initial announcement."
Finally, rumors that Warner accepted $250 to $500 million in exchange for supporting Blu-ray exclusively, can be laid to rest as Warner comments that their move to back Blu-ray 100% was to ensure that their future growth is intact through smart business decisions.
Again, Warner President Kevin Tsujihara comments, "The packaged media business is a $42 billion dollar business worldwide at the retail level, and we [Warner] have the largest market share of anybody," said Tsujihara. "From our perspective, the most important piece of this whole puzzle is, "How do we get growth back into this category?" That far outweighed anything else."
So there you have it. It is looking pretty clear that by the end of 2008, Blu-ray will be more accepted on a mainstream level.