Prorate the Paramount Contract if you have to!

[tron3]

We still can not confirm with absolute certainty that Paramount has an out of the HD DVD exclusive contract. "Reliable sources say yes, but Paramount stands fast and refuses to budge." Just how "Universal" a contract is this?

The only possible way out would be for Toshiba to capitulate and prorate the contract. In essence, not getting all 150 million back, but adjusted for an 18 month scheduale. If they pay back 12 months worth of cash, that comes out to 100 million.

That should soften the blow for Toshiba to let bygones be bygones. After all, as I have said in my "open letter" in my signature, "sooner or later, next year comes." Stock holders are waiting Toshiba. Make a move before they move on you.

This year in blu-ray could make all that lost money back and make the stock holders happy for yet years to come.

[gandley]

paramount didnt get 150 million though, it was only 50 million.

100mil was for Dreamworks was it not?

[IvanDrago]

If Paramount badly wants to get out of the Contract, then Toshiba can hold them hostage to it for a lot more money then a prorated portion since Toshiba has all of the leverage in the situation. If I was Toshiba, I would demand the full amount back plus interest.

Of course this assumes there is no Warner clause.

[StilettoViper]

Originally Posted by gandley

paramount didnt get 150 million though, it was only 50 million.

100mil was for Dreamworks was it not?

Why do people keep saying this? It makes absolutely no difference. Dreamworks is part of Paramount since they distribute their films, whatever Paramount does, Dreamworks will have to do also right now..... so it's $150 million no matter how you look at it unless you get into the nuts and bolts of how it was paid. Paramount just released an official statement that said they weren't switching, so the argument is moot at this point anyways.

[jw]

LAWSUITS

I guarantee you Toshiba will not admit defeat easily, they will sue everyone, but the only problem is,Once the consumer sees defeat, they wont be back, regardless of what a judge says 3 years down the road

[Mr_Bester]

An insider has already confirmed the out clause has been activated, it's still up to Paramount to take advantage of it or not...

[monkyman]

Originally Posted by jwbbud

I guarantee you Toshiba will not admit defeat easily, they will sue everyone, but the only problem is,Once the consumer sees defeat, they wont be back, regardless of what a judge says 3 years down the road

The BDA should just offer Toshiba some kind of licencing deal so they can start making BD player and put HD DVD behind them.

[Clark Kent]

Seeing what Paramount has been releasing it seems they're only obligated to release day and date titles for HD DVD. If the prorating thing is true I would expect to see them back out at the end of Q3 of this year. Then they could release on Blu-ray for the 4th quarter where approximately 50% of home video sales occur anyway.

[emont]

Per this article on Yahoo, it seems like Paramount has chosen Blu-ray!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20080108/....b5DyyYbEjtBAF

Cheers,

Eric

[darinp2]

Originally Posted by IvanDrago

If I was Toshiba, I would demand the full amount back plus interest.

If I was Toshiba I might be asking Paramount nicely if we could just cancel the rest of the contract (so I wouldn't have to throw more money away without a return for it). Basically, if Toshiba is still obligated to pay a lot of money, they may be the ones who want to cancel contract. Although this may apply more to the case with Dreamworks, which reportedly got $100 million and doesn't seem to care about HDM that much. Dreamworks may want to sit back and keep getting checks from Toshiba (if that is how the contract was structured).

--Darin

[luch19]

Just saw this on IMDB.com....

Paramount Makes Last-Ditch HD DVD Stand

Paramount sent out mixed signals at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Monday about whether it will abandon the HD DVD format. Following word that Warner Bros. now intends to release high-definition movies exclusively in the Blu-ray format and a report in the London Financial Times that Paramount would make a switch to Blu-ray, the Viacom-owned studio issued a statement saying, "We are still supporting HD DVD." A short time later, however, it said that, unlike its competitors, it would not be making any announcements of future HD DVD releases at the show. In its report about Paramount's reported plans, the Financial Times observed, "Paramount joining the Blu-ray camp would leave HD DVD likely to suffer the same fate as Sony's now obsolete Betamax video technology, which lost out to VHS in a similar format war in the 1980s."

[tron3]

Originally Posted by jwbbud

LAWSUITS

I guarantee you Toshiba will not admit defeat easily, they will sue everyone, but the only problem is,Once the consumer sees defeat, they wont be back, regardless of what a judge says 3 years down the road

And old business saying bears repeating, "Those who fail to innovate, litigate."

Paramount is putting up a good front. Maybe they will announce a return to blu-ray when Warner is all blu in May, or maybe ride out the contract. Even they must know this technology can not stand another year of waiting. Paramount, Dreamworks, or Universal has to make a move and soon. Last to join looks the most stupid. "Last one in is a rotten egg!"

If this drags on until the end of '08 with Warner gone, even an overnight change to all blu-ray might be too little too late. The wave of excitement for HDM will have begun to recede. Getting that momentum back would be difficult. "Didn't those technologies die?"

Furthermore, the hard media simply can't die. Sure, downloads will grab a market share, but it is still a market share owned by the Studios, so who loses? They know making hard media go away means throwing away a large market share because most consumers will not follow them like sheep to the digital trough.