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Posted by Goro on 10/05/53 11:39
Catalog titles : $18
New releases : $24
but these are WHOLESALE prices. Anyone know about what that means to
the consumer? Article says that it's about the same as when DVDs hit
the market, and IIRC the in-store price was around $30+
i don't like how the Sony guy mentions Managed Copy with bundled
dvds+umd. He talks about multiple versions of a movie but the bundle
just means that you get a discount on purchasing a separate version.
That's not how I want it.
-goro-
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=technologyNews&storyID=2006-02-08T101725Z_01_N08286567_RTRUKOC_0_US-BLURAY.xml
By Thomas K. Arnold
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Sony Pictures on Tuesday became the
first major studio to put a price tag on Blu-ray discs when they become
available in U.S. stores this year.
At the same time, the studio unveiled what many observers believe will
be a key component of the next-generation, high-definition optical
disc's marketing strategy: bundling various formats together to give
consumers more flexibility and mobility.
Catalog Blu-ray disc titles will wholesale for $17.95, about the same
as DVDs when that format hit the market in 1997. New-release Blu-ray
discs will wholesale for $23.45, a premium of 15%-20% over what
suppliers were charging for new theatrical DVDs.
The higher pricing structure for new releases is meant to accommodate
the sell-through and rental markets, said Benjamin Feingold, president
of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. He noted that in at the dawn of
DVD in 1997, most movies initially were released on rental-priced
videocassettes.
"The premium is for a way better format and to remind retailers that at
the time we launched DVD, VHS was selling for $55 wholesale in the
first window," Feingold said.
He added that Sony will not attach any suggested list prices to its
Blu-ray discs, at least not at this time.
"From the retail perspective, this is going to be a hot product, and
retailers will no doubt determine their own margin structure," he said.
"We believe in a free market."
Blu-ray discs likely will start showing up in stores by early summer,
sources say. In advance of that, Sony is bowing a bundling concept to
DVD and the Universal Media Disc (UMD) that it may migrate to Blu-ray.
Starting March 28, consumers can buy DVD-UMD combo packs of "The
Grudge," "Resident Evil," "Underworld," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden
Dragon" and MGM's "The Terminator" for just pennies more than Sony
typically charges for a new DVD.
A second batch of DVD-UMD combos -- "Ghostbusters," "Mad Max," "The
Fifth Element" and "Snatch" -- arrives April 25, with a third wave is
slated to come on the market in May.
Each combo is priced at $28.95. Sony typically charges $24.96-$26.96
for new DVD releases, while titles new to UMD generally list for
$19.95.
Feingold said that is a taste of what consumers can expect when Blu-ray
discs appear in stores.
"With the launch of Blu-ray, we're going to try to introduce the
managed-copy concept, where if you buy Blu-ray you'll be able to get
additional versions (of the same title) to use in your home," Feingold
said. "Ultimately, we might even get to the point where we'll offer
consumers the ability to have different versions of the same movie on
different devices in the home -- that's something we're working on."
For now, Feingold said, "we're experimenting with UMD," the tiny
optical-disc format playable only on Sony's handheld PlayStation
Portable (PSP).
"A lot of people have DVD players and also have PSPs, and this way for
one price they can get one movie and play it back on both formats,"
Feingold said.
Feingold would not specify whether future Blu-ray bundling would be
electronic or physical, as is the case with the DVD-UMD combo packs.
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter
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