Home Media Magazine - September 2-8, 2007 - (Page HD12) fourth quarter » Continued from page 10 big, big way. Hence, the supplier’s ambitious mall tour (see story, page 14), which will visit 18 cities by the end of this year, bringing the message of Blu-ray Disc to the masses — and tying in nicely with the high-profile software coming Bluray’s way. “We’re taking Blu-ray to the consumer in an aggressive way,” MacPherson said. “It all starts with great movies, and we have an incredible line-up of Blu-ray releases coming up. We’ll be enhancing many of these releases, like Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End and Cars, with new features that really showcase Blu-ray’s capabilities. In addition, our Bluray mall tour will be visiting cities across the United States throughout the end of the year, which will allow consumers to get a hands-on Blu-ray experience.” Warner Home Video, one of two studios (the other is Paramount Home Entertainment) releasing titles in both the Blu-ray Disc and HD DVD formats, will release six high-profile titles on high-def in the fourth quarter. Among them: summer theatrical hits Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Ocean’s 13, both coming the same day as the DVD, and the new spruced-up version of Blade Runner. “Lower hardware prices bode well for growth in the highdefinition marketplace,” said Steve Nickerson, Warner SVP of worldwide high-definition. “And we look forward to maintaining our market share leadership in the fourth quarter.” Warner claims a market share of more than 30% of all high-def disc sales, and credits its dual-format approach as the secret behind this success. Just last month, the studio announced it had sold through to consumers more than 250,000 high-def disc copies of the epic actioner 300, which was released on both next-generation formats July 31. Warner president Ron Sanders noted that Warner’s two-format approach has given the studio six of the 10 top-selling high-def disc releases of all time, and said the strong 300 showing “underscores the positive business benefits of supporting both HD DVD and Blu-ray.” Universal Studios Home Entertainment, the only major studio backing just HD DVD, also plans a formidable fourthquarter slate, led by The Bourne Ultimatum. More details are scheduled to be announced at the CEDIA show in early September. “We’re expecting a solid fourth quarter with a combination of great titles and compelling hardware to offer consumers,” said Craig Kornblau, president of Universal Studios Home Entertainment. “With analysts reporting that game consoles will not be the main DVD or high-definition player in the home, Universal and the other companies in the HD DVD Promotional Group are staying focused on dedicated players as the key to winning over our customers. “We’re also focused on the PC market as the best way to achieve the manufacturing efficiencies that will continue to lower prices on HD DVD drives across the board.” Independent suppliers also are stepping up their high-def disc activities in the fourth quarter. Starz Home Entertainment is cracking the Blu-ray Disc market with six releases, all geared at horror fans. Coming Oct. 2 are Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Evil Dead II and Halloween. Two weeks later on Oct. 16, the supplier will release two volumes from its popular Showtime “Masters of Horror” series. But while all six titles are coming only to Blu-ray, this does not mean Starz is limiting itself to that format. “Our high-def releases for the fourth quarter will be only on the Blu-ray Disc format,” said Starz Home Entertainment president Bill Clark. “But we will ultimately look to the consumer and their choice for the final format.” Image Entertainment is taking a page from Warner and Paramount and going the two-format route. Three music concerts will be released on HD DVD in December: Roy Orbison: Black and White, the Moody Blues: Lovely to See You and R. Kelly Live! The Light It Up Tour. These follow three earlier music concert releases, featuring live shows from Barry Manilow; Heart; Chicago; and Earth, Wind and Fire. “We are very pleased with sales results for our initial HD DVD music concerts,” said John Powers, Image’s VP of marketing of feature films. “It is important to satisfy the demand for high-def titles and provide consumers a variety of content. Our new HD DVD music concerts are perfect for consumers interested in building their new high-def libraries.” Image also will release a Blu-ray Disc version of GalleryPlayer’s new high-definition content, showcasing the world’s finest art and photography. Upcoming titles include 1000 Places to See Before You Die, The Amazing World of National Geographic and Art Wolfe: Vanishing Act. “We fully expect to see momentum for high-def build in the fourth quarter,” Power said. Also making the jump into the high-definition marketplace in the fourth quarter is Union Station Media, which Nov. 6 will release Beowulf & Grendel, one of the company’s best-selling catalog titles, on Blu-ray Disc. “It is our strategy to begin regularly releasing select titles on Blu-ray, day and date with the DVD release, beginning in February with To Kill a King,” said Barbara Javitz, Union Station Media SVP of operations. 12 HOLLYWOOD goes HIGH-DEF September 2007
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