Warner being offered money to go exclusive?

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shagaboopon

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Not sure how to take this article, could be the usual rumour mill in overdrive but I thought I post it anyway for those who follow such news.
http://www.tvpredictions.com/warner091007.htm

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
 
The CE companies have created a monster.

And the studios now have a new revenue stream; time limited exclusive support of the High-Def format able to pony up the most dosh.

Have Warner been offered money, er, I mean ‘incentives’? I’m sure they would say exactly the same thing as the man from Disney recently said:

“No comment” ;)
 
Theres no cash incentive big enough to cover choosing the wrong format.

Warner were originally in line with the DVD forum and supported HD DVD. About 2 years ago they entered into Blu ray and have produced some titles on Blu ray, but continue to promote HD DVD with some exclusives.

They have invested heavily in Blu ray, and are definately looking at the uptake and "war" they are however a lot larger fish than viacom, and in a much better financial "situation".

I was expecting an announcement sooner rather than latter, looks like we have to wait. Warner it seems can afford to play along.
 
Turns out offer was old. same time as Paramount. So Warner had rejected exclusivity for neutrality. Unlike Paramount they are benefitting most from the HDM market.

Also are there BD titles delayed or inferior purely because of the wait for profile 1.1? In which case it favouring of HD DVD may be technical as opposed to political
 
Not sure how to take this article, could be the usual rumour mill in overdrive but I thought I post it anyway for those who follow such news.
http://www.tvpredictions.com/warner091007.htm

No doubt Warner are now waiting for a counteroffer from Sony. Even if the story is total nonsense this rumor alone will force the BD camp to jump into action. They just can't afford to lose another studio in such a short time. If played smart this could earn Warner (or any other studio) a lot of money..
 
:confused: It seems due to the sheer number of times these rumours are being repeated, more in the media than on these forums, that pressure is mounting for a single format. So far though it is just speculation.. I find it hard to believe that all the studios are not always being courted by both sides..

I'll believe it if/when it happens, until then it is nothing more than a reassembly of the same rumours and gossip that have been circulating around here.

It seems even the 'respected journalists' are getting caught up in the frustration for there to be some real news on this.. Because unless I missed something I can not see any actual news in that article at all?? :confused:
 
Total revenue for HD films will be around $100 for 2007, so it someone offered Warner $250 to go exclusive, it has to be significant.

It is early days yet as HD will have only 2-3% of the DVD market by year end 2007, but with player prices dropping we are entering a new mass market adoption phase for HD players.

So far Blu-ray has done well from the PS3, but with lack of inexpensive 1.1 profile players may come to haunt the Blu-ray supporters. Internet interactivity may be seen as a crucial revenue stream for studios like Warner and the lack of ethernet ports on all BD players is a drawback here.

Would Warner exclusivity ensure HD DVD wins? Maybe not, but it would ensure that it doesn't lose and it would ensure that all HD fans would need to get a HD DVD or dual player.
 
Warner do have patent on HD DVD, so guess it's in their interest to stay there.
 
I think Warner would win the war for whoever they went exclusive with and it seems likely that both sides would be trying to tempt them to do so.

However I don't belive these rumors have any real weight behind them it was only a couple of weeks ago we heard the exact same thing, the frenzy died down after Warner spoke at the Blu-ray conferance at IFA, Warner havn't really shown any indication over the last few weeks that they are about to drop support for either format. The 3rd Gen Toshibas will have 300 in the box and Warner has been annouceing lots of titles for both formats.

I feel this is simply guess work from some websites in order to draw traffic to their site. I think it speaks volumes that of all the rumors we spent a year discussing, Lionsgate, Disney, Fox, Universal neutrality rumors the only studio to have actually done anything wasn't part of any of the popular rumors suggesting the vast majority of people have very little idea of what is actually happening behind close doors at the highest level.

I'd love the rumor to be right as it would almost certianly win the war for my favoured format but I won't be holding my breath over the next few weeks.
 
I'd love Warner to go to HD-DVD exclusive. God i hope it turns out to be true as i'm sure it would be all over for SONY
 
i think that will do for this thread as its far from concrete information and usually this type of speculation will result in arguments

paul
 
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