Warner Bros Entertainment To Use Blu-Ray DVD Exclusively Time Warner Inc.'s (TWX) Warner Bros. Entertainment Group unit will release its high-definition DVD titles exclusively in Blue-ray format beginning later this year. The move follows decisions by other entertainment companies, including Disney, Sony Corp.'s (SNE) Sony Pictures, News Corp.'s (NWS) Twentieth Century Fox and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer to back Blu-ray exclusively. Viacom Inc.'s (VIA) Paramount Pictures, which also owns DreamWorks SKG, recently dropped its support for Blu-ray and said it would start distributing films exclusively in the HD DVD format, along with Universal Pictures, a unit of General Electric (GE). Warner Bros. Entertainment Group said it will continue to release its titles in both standard DVD and Blu-ray formats. After a short window following their standard DVD and Blu-ray releases, all new titles will continue to be in high- definition DVD until the end of May 2008. In considering its decision, the company said a two-format landscape has led to consumer confusion and indifference toward high-definition, and kept technology from reaching mass adoption. "Consumers have clearly chosen Blu-ray, and we believe that recognizing this preference is the right step in making this great home entertainment experience accessible to the widest possible audience," said Kevin Tsujihara, president of the Warner Bros. unit. Shares of Time Warner, a New York media and entertainment company, recently traded down 38 cents, or 2.5%, at $15.95. LINK to story |