Why didn't Sony outbid Microshiba for Paramount and end this war?

[mov9384ie]

the speculated number is $150 million.

surely if it is worth it to toshiba to spend $150m to prolong the war, why wasn't it worth $150m for sony to end this war?

whatever money toshiba spends can only achieve a stalemate at best, no one expects any maneuvering to net toshiba a win. how can toshiba be willing to spend that much money to stick around, but sony isn't willing to spend that much money to deliver the knock out punch?

paramount staying neutral would have likely ended this war in jan 2008, so sony buying paramount to become blu-ray exclusive would have secured blu-ray the victory definitively


the other aspect is that hd-dvd only gains toshiba licensing profits from discs and drives, just like blu-ray gains sony licensing profits the same way. but a blu-ray victory also nets sony a boost in ps3 sales on top of licensing profits, so sony has more to gain yet toshiba was able to outbid them?

[DealsR4theDevil]

I don't think anyone knew about this until it happened.

Once the deal was made it was to late.

[SS316SRV]

Why is it Sony's job to do this? Blu-ray is MUCH more than Sony.

[doctorD]

The thing to know is that Viacom (they own Paramount & Dreamworks) sold out. By the time the BDA found out, it was too late to do anything.

It appears that Warner was offered $$$ but didn't take the bribe. Viacom needed the money more than Warner did.

HD DVD would have been on life support without the deal. The good thing is that so far none of the Paramount or Dreamwork movies have helped them win a week in the war. Transformers has quickly declined on their sales list where a movie like 300 has consistenly been in the top 7 for Blu ray since it released. Blu ray was a better seller for them and not HD DVD...it was a money purchase that caused them to drop Blu ray and nothing else. And now they are seeing that their titles are not selling as well as they could have.

Warner is the company that could either win the war for Blu ray if they drop HD DVD next year...or they could make this go on forever if they drop Blu ray and support the enemy.

I truly believe that they look at the sales and see that Blu ray will be the smartest choice.

HD DVD has no future.

Stay the course and support Blu ray all the way.

[Beta-guy]

it was a disappointment but I think the BD camp has recovered from Paramount move, we are simply upset about it :P question I'd like to asked everyone is if we got Universal how long would it take HD-DVD to recover? I know it's just speculation, but I'm quite frankly waiting, waiting for 1 or more studios to move to BD, I don't like HD-DVD staying alive especially after that move by Paramount and the assumed reason behind it.

[davidAZ]

Originally Posted by mov9384ie

the speculated number is $150 million.

surely if it is worth it to toshiba to spend $150m to prolong the war, why wasn't it worth $150m for sony to end this war?

If the Blu camp doles out this kind of money to keep the studio, wouldn't they be at risk of paying the other studios that have been loyal?

What the Reds have gained in titles, they've lost in bad publicity.

[radagast]

Originally Posted by SS316SRV

Why is it Sony's job to do this? Blu-ray is MUCH more than Sony.

EXACTLY!!! THANK YOU!!!

[radagast]

Originally Posted by davidAZ

If the Blu camp doles out this kind of money to keep the studio, wouldn't they be at risk of paying the other studios that have been loyal?

What the Reds have gained in titles, they've lost in bad publicity.

Not only that, Sony already said they thought they could win on merits alone. Obviously the duds don't think dud can win on its merits.

[Studio Support]

Originally Posted by mov9384ie

the speculated number is $150 million.

surely if it is worth it to toshiba to spend $150m to prolong the war, why wasn't it worth $150m for sony to end this war?

whatever money toshiba spends can only achieve a stalemate at best, no one expects any maneuvering to net toshiba a win. how can toshiba be willing to spend that much money to stick around, but sony isn't willing to spend that much money to deliver the knock out punch?

paramount staying neutral would have likely ended this war in jan 2008, so sony buying paramount to become blu-ray exclusive would have secured blu-ray the victory definitively


the other aspect is that hd-dvd only gains toshiba licensing profits from discs and drives, just like blu-ray gains sony licensing profits the same way. but a blu-ray victory also nets sony a boost in ps3 sales on top of licensing profits, so sony has more to gain yet toshiba was able to outbid them?

People are confusing facts with rumours. Working in this industry, I will tell you that Toshiba/Microsoft did not pay off Paramount & DreamWorks to go HD DVD exclusive. Sony’s contract with Paramount/DreamWorks expired. The same just happened with Warner Bros. & New Line Cinema.

I will say that Toshiba will be helping Paramount/DreamWorks with money for advertizing.

Sony stopped subsidizing Paramount/DreamWorks for Blu-Ray discs due to their expensive production costs. HD DVD are a lot more cheaper to produce, so even if they sell less HD DVD movie titles, they turn a profit, where as every time they sell a BD movie, they lose money. Sony used to pay Paramount/DreamWorks this extra cost just to keep their Blu-Ray support. Not anymore, Sony cannot afford this subsidizing anymore.

Now it’s O.K. to have a favourite Hi Def Format, but HD DVD & Blu-Ray are both not going to die off for many years to come, so let’s hope people at least support both formats & have both co-excising in their theatre room(s).
(Please Note that HD DVD never has a Paramount/DreamWorks contract but they still produced movies on the format due to the cheaper price...)

[reiella]

Originally Posted by Studio Support

Now it’s O.K. to have a favourite Hi Def Format, but HD DVD & Blu-Ray are both not going to die off for many years to come, so let’s hope people at least support both formats & have both co-excising in their theatre room(s).
(Please Note that HD DVD never has a Paramount/DreamWorks contract but they still produced movies on the format due to the cheaper price...)

And of course, has absolutely no bearing on that their engineers prefered to work with Blu-Ray.

[ add / edit ]
And please tell me I'm misunderstanding your statement there. Are you saying that Paramount/Dreamworks doesn't currently have a contract with the HD-DVD PG?

[The Guardian]

Originally Posted by Studio Support

Sony stopped subsidizing Paramount/DreamWorks for Blu-Ray discs due to their expensive production costs. HD DVD are a lot more cheaper to produce, so even if they sell less HD DVD movie titles, they turn a profit, where as every time they sell a BD movie, they lose money.

riiiight... the 50 cents per disc (at most!) premium for Blu-ray was really breaking the bank and making them lose money on every sale of $30 discs... especially when those discs were only selling twice as well as the slightly cheaper HD discs. Why didn't I think of that!

[Bullseye]

Originally Posted by Studio Support

People are confusing facts with rumours. Working in this industry, I will tell you that Toshiba/Microsoft did not pay off Paramount & DreamWorks to go HD DVD exclusive. Sony’s contract with Paramount/DreamWorks expired. The same just happened with Warner Bros. & New Line Cinema.

I will say that Toshiba will be helping Paramount/DreamWorks with money for advertizing.

Sony stopped subsidizing Paramount/DreamWorks for Blu-Ray discs due to their expensive production costs. HD DVD are a lot more cheaper to produce, so even if they sell less HD DVD movie titles, they turn a profit, where as every time they sell a BD movie, they lose money. Sony used to pay Paramount/DreamWorks this extra cost just to keep their Blu-Ray support. Not anymore, Sony cannot afford this subsidizing anymore.

Now it’s O.K. to have a favourite Hi Def Format, but HD DVD & Blu-Ray are both not going to die off for many years to come, so let’s hope people at least support both formats & have both co-excising in their theatre room(s).
(Please Note that HD DVD never has a Paramount/DreamWorks contract but they still produced movies on the format due to the cheaper price...)

This sounds like it came from the HD-DVD fanboy bible. Posting only the negatives about BD. Your also suggesting that Sony is Blu Ray when its only part of the BDA. WB have an interest in BD which of course was not mentioned in your post.

If your not a HD-DVD fanboy then why not be alittle more balanced on your post.

[psx3man]

i think this bs about the disk prices needs to go in the beginning yes but not now. they are making alot more blu-ray disc than hd dvd disc all the hd dvd disc are used for is movies blu-ray are used for movies and games and if the disc are so expensive then why dont the games cost more?

[Joe Cain]

Originally Posted by Studio Support

People are confusing facts with rumours. Working in this industry...

Sorry, I've read too much in the legitimate press that tells me otherwise regarding the payoff and replication costs. If you want some semblance of respect for your credibility based on your job, get your bona fides vetted by some of the Insiders---otherwise you're just someone else on a forum.

[buckshot]

Originally Posted by Studio Support

People are confusing facts with rumours. Working in this industry, I will tell you that Toshiba/Microsoft did not pay off Paramount & DreamWorks to go HD DVD exclusive. Sony’s contract with Paramount/DreamWorks expired. The same just happened with Warner Bros. & New Line Cinema.

I will say that Toshiba will be helping Paramount/DreamWorks with money for advertizing.

Sony stopped subsidizing Paramount/DreamWorks for Blu-Ray discs due to their expensive production costs. HD DVD are a lot more cheaper to produce, so even if they sell less HD DVD movie titles, they turn a profit, where as every time they sell a BD movie, they lose money. Sony used to pay Paramount/DreamWorks this extra cost just to keep their Blu-Ray support. Not anymore, Sony cannot afford this subsidizing anymore.

Now it’s O.K. to have a favourite Hi Def Format, but HD DVD & Blu-Ray are both not going to die off for many years to come, so let’s hope people at least support both formats & have both co-excising in their theatre room(s).
(Please Note that HD DVD never has a Paramount/DreamWorks contract but they still produced movies on the format due to the cheaper price...)

first off, yes the pay off was ''advertising consideration''. second. bd is not more expensive. when you take into consideration how poorly hd dvd is selling then look at the costs associated with low inventory turns, insuring stored product and shorter production runs hd dvd will more than likely be more expensive than bd. not to mention that buying the materials to make bd will get less expensive as it continues to outsell hd dvd by 2:1. bulk rates gets very nice when you're buying 2 times the amount as your competition.

[Terjyn]

Originally Posted by Studio Support

(Please Note that HD DVD never has a Paramount/DreamWorks contract but they still produced movies on the format due to the cheaper price...)

Paramount admitted that they received money to go HD-DVD only, they just denied it was 150 million.

I'm not even going to begin respond to the rest of the complete bull you posted.

[Intamin]

Originally Posted by Studio Support

People are confusing facts with rumours. Working in this industry, I will tell you that Toshiba/Microsoft did not pay off Paramount & DreamWorks to go HD DVD exclusive. Sony’s contract with Paramount/DreamWorks expired. The same just happened with Warner Bros. & New Line Cinema.

I will say that Toshiba will be helping Paramount/DreamWorks with money for advertizing.

Sony stopped subsidizing Paramount/DreamWorks for Blu-Ray discs due to their expensive production costs. HD DVD are a lot more cheaper to produce, so even if they sell less HD DVD movie titles, they turn a profit, where as every time they sell a BD movie, they lose money. Sony used to pay Paramount/DreamWorks this extra cost just to keep their Blu-Ray support. Not anymore, Sony cannot afford this subsidizing anymore.

Now it’s O.K. to have a favourite Hi Def Format, but HD DVD & Blu-Ray are both not going to die off for many years to come, so let’s hope people at least support both formats & have both co-excising in their theatre room(s).
(Please Note that HD DVD never has a Paramount/DreamWorks contract but they still produced movies on the format due to the cheaper price...)

Anyone find his sig ironic, saying we deny factual (notice correct spelling) information, when a google search for the pay off brings up several news sources citing it to be true. Good game.

Anyways, it's not sony's responsibility to pay off Para, it would have been the BDA, but I'd rather win off merits than a bribe.

[JTK]

Originally Posted by mov9384ie

the speculated number is $150 million.

surely if it is worth it to toshiba to spend $150m to prolong the war, why wasn't it worth $150m for sony to end this war?

whatever money toshiba spends can only achieve a stalemate at best, no one expects any maneuvering to net toshiba a win. how can toshiba be willing to spend that much money to stick around, but sony isn't willing to spend that much money to deliver the knock out punch?

paramount staying neutral would have likely ended this war in jan 2008, so sony buying paramount to become blu-ray exclusive would have secured blu-ray the victory definitively


the other aspect is that hd-dvd only gains toshiba licensing profits from discs and drives, just like blu-ray gains sony licensing profits the same way. but a blu-ray victory also nets sony a boost in ps3 sales on top of licensing profits, so sony has more to gain yet toshiba was able to outbid them?

Ethics. Legality.

[JTK]

Originally Posted by Studio Support

People are confusing facts with rumours. Working in this industry, I will tell you that Toshiba/Microsoft did not pay off Paramount & DreamWorks to go HD DVD exclusive. Sony’s contract with Paramount/DreamWorks expired. The same just happened with Warner Bros. & New Line Cinema.

I will say that Toshiba will be helping Paramount/DreamWorks with money for advertizing.

Sony stopped subsidizing Paramount/DreamWorks for Blu-Ray discs due to their expensive production costs. HD DVD are a lot more cheaper to produce, so even if they sell less HD DVD movie titles, they turn a profit, where as every time they sell a BD movie, they lose money. Sony used to pay Paramount/DreamWorks this extra cost just to keep their Blu-Ray support. Not anymore, Sony cannot afford this subsidizing anymore.

Now it’s O.K. to have a favourite Hi Def Format, but HD DVD & Blu-Ray are both not going to die off for many years to come, so let’s hope people at least support both formats & have both co-excising in their theatre room(s).
(Please Note that HD DVD never has a Paramount/DreamWorks contract but they still produced movies on the format due to the cheaper price...)

^^ Something's wrong if this guy is only temporarily suspended. He's still putting propoganda in his sig anyways, since suspended people still have full User CP control.

Originally Posted by Studio Support's sig

I've been banned???
Quote:
Date the ban will be lifted: 11-25-2007, 03:00 PM
The Rumours are TRUE, clearly Blu-Ray.com are a bunch of PS3 crying FanBoys, which reject FACTIAL INFORMATION.... Expect several negative “Press Releases” by reviewers & studios about Blu-Ray.com in the next coming weeks.

It's spelled "factual", you dolt.

[Kirsty_Mc]

12 months or so from no they will be holding out their grubby little hands again for another "consideration"... That is if a somewhat unsophisticated format is still floundering away by then.

Or else we can welcome them back into the fold!!!

If the do come back into the fold at some time, I just hope they don't fob us off with an encoding for the unsophisticated format. It was a pity they shafted us, as their BDs were of above average quality.