That's according to an exclusive report today from the Associated Press.
The retailer has tested both formats in approximately 250 stores for the last several months. But Blockbuster officials say 70 percent of the high-def rentals are Blu-ray.
"The consumers are sending us a message. I can't ignore what I'm seeing," Matthew Smith, Blockbuster's senior vice president of merchandising, tells AP.
Blockbuster is expected to announce the decision to favor Blu-ray over HD DVD on Monday, AP reports. However, the retailer will continue to carry HD DVD titles in the original 250 test locations.
Smith said that Blu-ray titles are outpacing HD DVD rentals because there are movies available in the format. Four of the eight major film studios are backing Blu-ray exclusively with only one (Universal) supporting HD DVD exclusively.
"When you walk into a store
and see all this product available in Blu-ray and there is less
available on HD DVD, I think the consumer gets that," Smith
said, according to the AP.
Blockbuster's decision could be a serious blow to HD DVD in the
high-def format war. But one HD DVD backer said Sunday that
Blockbuster is acting on limited information.
"I think trying to make a
format decision using such a short time period is really not
measuring what the consumer is saying," said Ken Graffeo,
co-president of the promotional group for HD DVD.
See Swanni's analysis of Blockbuster's
decision.
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Phillip Swann is
president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in
dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox
News, Inside Edition, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The
Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times, The Associated Press and The
Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at
swann@tvpredictions.com
or at 703-505-3064.
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