Why Blu-ray Won
The final outcome was almost never in doubt.
By Swanni
Although the last two years brought many twists and turns, one could argue that the ultimate end was rarely in doubt. Despite an admirable effort from its supporters, such as Toshiba, Universal Studios and Microsoft, HD DVD was a long shot from the get-go.
In fact, you could argue that Blu-ray's victory was almost pre-determined, that it couldn't lose even if it tried.
Why?
When the two formats launched in the spring of 2006, four major Hollywood studios had decided to back Blu-ray exclusively while only one (Universal) backed HD DVD. (The others said they would release films in both formats.)
The Blu-ray studio contingent was led by Sony, which also happened to be the format's parent. Sony's involvement with Blu-ray gave the company tremendous leverage with its fellow studios, helping considerably in garnering their endorsements.
The studio support gave Blu-ray the equivalent of a home field advantage because it meant that eventually more titles would be available in the format. It also meant that with four studios supporting it, Blu-ray would get more marketing dollars and media attention.
Paramount's decision to switch from neutral to HD DVD last August only delayed the inevitable because Blu-ray still had a 4-2 lead among the major studios. Warner's announcement in January 2008 that it would drop its neutrality and switch to Blu-ray made it 5-2 -- and that was game, set and match.
Certainly, other factors contributed to Blu-ray's victory, particularly Sony's risky (but successful) decision to put a Blu-ray player inside every Play Station 3. With millions of PS3s in homes, there's no wonder why Blu-ray defeated HD DVD every week in disc sales.
But the studios decided who would win this war -- at the beginning when four endorsed Blu-ray and again in January 2008 when Warner switched to Blu.
So while Blu-ray backers now like to proclaim that consumers made the decision at retail by buying more Blu-ray discs, the real decision was made two years ago in high rise office buildings in Los Angeles.
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Swanni (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
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