Why would Warner announce days before CES rather than on CES...?

[mov9384ie]

it seems odd that warner would announce their move days before ces.


why announcing on ces would have been better:

1) more exposure
ces is a major event and regular news outlets will be covering it. warner would have gotten more exposure by making the announcement while the world is watching. imagine local news stations all saying,
"and the biggest news from ces is that warner is blu-ray exclusive. it looks like blu-ray will win the war."

2) hurts "ultimate xbox360"
to warner it wouldn't make much of a difference but to sony it would have helped ps3. ultimate xbox360 was rumored to have built-in hd-dvd. imagine msft announcing ultimate xbox360, warner makes their announcement, now msft looks really foolish and has to deal with cancelling a product they just announced. any confusion/problems with xbox360 helps ps3.



so what was the motive behind warner's early announcement?

1) another announcement is looming but is contingent on warner making the first move. warner announcing early gives the other group time to organize their announcement for ces

2) warner was simply being gracious to the other side by showing their cards early. warner spares companies possible humiliation and thus doesn't burn any bridges for the future.

3) ???