I came across some interesting developments in the recent HD DVD announcements. The pieces of the puzzle are slowly starting to come together.
Firstly Crave was kind enough to point out that shortly after Paramount’s big announcement both Fox and MGM made a press release stating that they will be implementing “an aggressive global Blu-Ray Disc release strategy, including 29 new releases and ‘must-have’ catalog titles that runs through the end of the 2007 calendar year”.
Secondly the New York Times shed some light on Paramount’s reasoning for exclusively supporting HD DVD. As we suspected it all comes down to the moolah. “Paramount and DreamWorks Animation together will receive about $150 million in financial incentives for their commitment to HD DVD, according to two Viacom executives with knowledge of the deal but who asked not to be identified. The incentives will come in a combination of cash and promotional guarantees. Toshiba, for instance, will use the release of “Shrek the Third†as part of an HD DVD marketing campaign.”
The battle rages on…
