Disney CEO: Studios Not Supporting Blu-ray are Greedy and Shortsighted

[mwgiii]

He didn't mention them by name, but movie companies that aren't embracing the Blu-ray Disc DVD format are being greedy and shortsighted, Disney CEO Robert Iger suggested Tuesday.

Iger said Blu-ray's eventual victory over rival platform HD DVD is a "no-brainer," given that the former is outselling the latter by 2-to-1.

That, though, didn't stop Viacom's Paramount and DreamWorks from dumping Blu-ray last month in favor of HD DVD.

"Those studios are largely taking easy money, and it will cost them in the future," Iger said Tuesday at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference in New York.

Earlier at the confab, News Corp.'s Rupert Murdoch said that Paramount essentially accepted money from Toshiba to go exclusively HD DVD. He even put a price on the payment: $150 million.

Rest here: http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=17487

 

[meStevo]

Iger said Blu-ray's eventual victory over rival platform HD DVD is a "no-brainer," given that the former is outselling the latter by 2-to-1.

So, they just called 30% of the early adopters stupid. This guy is brilliant.

 

[tonyp56]

Um, yeah, someone that supports Blu-Ray, saying Blu-Ray is the winner, and everyone who supports HD-DVD are stupid, is about the same thing as a captain of a sinking ship going down with their ship.

Will Blu-Ray win? Will HD-DVD win? Who knows, but either camp saying their side is right, should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[tonyp56]

OK, don't like that, can't leave my post count on that number. LOL

 

[JoeSp]

I believe that studios only supporting one side right now are nervious. Neither side is making inroads on the other's territory. BD is still selling 2 to 1 over HD-DVD. Occasional moves of 5 to 6 points over a one week time span is not real movement because overall the differance has remained pretty stagnant.

I think the studios want to see movement. The HD-DVD crowd wants to see at least parity with BD in disc sales and the BD crowd wants to see movement towards 3 to 1 or 4 to 1 in disc sales. HD-DVD needs that parity to stay in the brick and mortar stores. BD needs that movement to a higher ratio to push HD-DVD out of the brick and motar stores.

Right now with the 2 to 1 ratio neither format is winning or losing. Without movement we have stagnation and a continued desire by the consumer to stand on the sidelines and wait this out -- even if this means the extermination of both formats. At some point in order for survival one of these guys must do something to either move the market decidely in their favor or give up. Because if the scenario continues like this you might just see the retailers make a decision -- in which case we might all lose.

 

[GaryPen]

BD is still selling 2 to 1 over HD-DVD.

I just don't buy that. Check the sales ranks of the HD-A2, HD-A20, and HD-AX2 on Amazon vs. that of the equivalent BD players. At least on Amazon, whom I would definitely consider a gauge of consumer sales trends, HD-DVD players appear to be outselling BD. (Of course, that doesn't include PS3 sales. But, the XBox is outselling the PS3, as well. And, the HD-DVD add-on is doing quite well.) So...2 to 1? No f-ing way.

And, as an example of movie sales, The Planet Earth HD-DVD boxed set is also outselling the BD one. Again, 2 to 1 is just more f-ing marketing BS.

I'm just sayin'.

 

[meStevo]

He means sales of media, per NPD (so just US sales) it's still sitting at 2-1, and like 61-39 % ratio since inception.

I am pretty happy with the sales, given the like 6-1 install base of BD players (don't remember where I read that figure). For HDDVD that's a huge win, for BD it's a problem that mandates spin. It is clearly a failure to capitalize properly on the PS3 install base, another failure by Sony in it's PS3 marketing, and a failure by all BD group studios to not make media attractive enough (features, selection, and pricing) to push sales toward any kind of critical mass and topple over HDDVD's hopes of gaining ground.

 

[JoeSp]

Gary -- a studio does not care about the number of players but the number of disc sales. They do not get one penny on the sale of a HD-DVD or BD player. Do you have more then 1 HD-DVD and/or BD player? My guess is no. But I bet you have a few HD-DVD or BD discs setting around. (I have 54 BD movies and counting) Right now it seems as if neither format is getting the support out of its player numbers in the field. And if we were counting all the HD-DVD players (including the miserly 360 HD-DVD player that hasn't even met with 3% of total 360 sales) and all the BD standalone sales (including the PS3 sales) the BD group would be leading the player counts by a 5 or 6 to 1 ratio. But once again, the studios aren't making any money on those numbers now are they? So the fact that HD-DVD is outselling BD in standalones on AMAZON does not make for a good footing.

That said there are several brick and mortar stores who have started reporting that BD standalones are starting to outnumber HD-DVD standalone sales. You may now use the same arguements we heard and read back in November '06 about BD discs sales surpassing HD-DVD sales. And we all know where we are now don't we?

The only failure - Elstevo - is the failure of HD-DVD to keep their lead in disc sales and then overtake BD on discs sales with all those great low low prices they started in June. Now it looks as if they just might give up their lead in standalone sales too -- even with their basement prices. So how is that BD's failure?

Right now the only failure is that of either format to stake out a commanding lead. That commanding lead boys will not be in standalone sales but will have to be in disc sales. And 2 to 1 or 3 to 1 is not commanding enough. Now if we see 4 or 5 to 1 then you can call the other's moves a failure. But right now we are just entering the 2nd turn in a long race. And being first is not winning just as being second is not losing -- it just means that right now BD is leading this race.

 

[GaryPen]

And, where we are is pretty much a stalemate. As I've said before, no real judgement can be made until after the '07 holiday shopping season numbers are in, or at least until we are well into it.

That's just the simple truth.

 

[Mike0616]

He didn't mention them by name, but movie companies that aren't embracing the Blu-ray Disc DVD format are being greedy and shortsighted, Disney CEO Robert Iger suggested Tuesday.

Iger said Blu-ray's eventual victory over rival platform HD DVD is a "no-brainer," given that the former is outselling the latter by 2-to-1.

That, though, didn't stop Viacom's Paramount and DreamWorks from dumping Blu-ray last month in favor of HD DVD.

"Those studios are largely taking easy money, and it will cost them in the future," Iger said Tuesday at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference in New York.

Earlier at the confab, News Corp.'s Rupert Murdoch said that Paramount essentially accepted money from Toshiba to go exclusively HD DVD. He even put a price on the payment: $150 million.

Rest here: http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=17487

As someone who owns neither, but keeps up, I find it laughable that anyone at Disney could call anyone out about being greedy. I thought Disney was the poster child for corporate greed.

 

[GaryPen]

Bingo. We have a winner.

 

[diogen]

I thought Disney was the poster child for corporate greed.

According to Joe Kane, the whole BD gang is the definition of greed
http://www.satelliteguys.us/hd-dvd-...-fight-quit-preferably-quit-7.html#post985688

Diogen.

 

[JoeSp]

And the HD-DVD crowd isn't? I guess blind people can type!