WGD <wgd.roaming@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> Just read in "The Week", Vol 8, Issue 352 did March 14,'08, pg42 (drawn
> from slate.com) - did SONY bribe Warner Bros by paying them somewhere
> between $400 and $500 million to go with Blu-Ray?
>
> *IF* so, another stab in the chest of the consumer. Does anyone know
the
> truth?
Well, the president of Warner Home Video presumably knows the truth. At
the press conference following the announcement, he was asked whether
his company had been paid to go Blu exclusively. His response was "I
wish." Not a categorical denial, but enough to provoke a lawsuit if it
turns out that WHV did get paid to switch.
In any case, the numbers that have been thrown around about this aren't
very plausible. A $500 million payment would constitute something like
$100 for every Blu-ray playback device sold to date.
The fact is that HD DVD was pretty much a flop outside the United
States. Worldwide, Blu-ray discs were outselling HDs by 2 to 1 during
most of 2007, and Warner didn't need to be bribed to see the writing on
the wall.
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