Disney bashes non Blu-ray backers

Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia in New York, Disney CEO Robert Iger said that movie studios not supporting Sony‘s Blu-ray format are shortsighted and the move will cost them in the future. He also called the studios he did not name “greedy” for taking easy money.

Iger said that the winner of the format war is clear, seeing that Blu-ray is outselling HD-DVD on a two to one basis consistently. The Sony format has a larger install base, thanks in large part to its high-end, Blu-ray capable HD-DVD drive.

As it stands, the format war lines are drawn with Sony, Disney, 20th Century Fox, and MGM all backing Blu-ray. On the HD-DVD side, Toshiba has Paramount, Dreamworks, and Universal in its team. Warner Bros. remains neutral, creating content for both formats.

News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch, however, didn’t hold back as he said that Paramount accepted a substantial amount of money from Toshiba to go exclusive. He says the deal was worth US$ 150 million.

Disney announced at the same confab that it will continue to grow its robust business opportunities worldwide, expanding to Russia, China, and India for some opportunities to entertain and help Blu-ray out along the way.

Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia in New York, Disney CEO Robert Iger said that movie studios not supporting Sony‘s Blu-ray format are shortsighted and the move will cost them in the future. He also called the studios he did not name “greedy” for taking easy money.

Iger said that the winner of the format war is clear, seeing that Blu-ray is outselling HD-DVD on a two to one basis consistently. The Sony format has a larger install base, thanks in large part to its high-end, Blu-ray capable HD-DVD drive.

As it stands, the format war lines are drawn with Sony, Disney, 20th Century Fox, and MGM all backing Blu-ray. On the HD-DVD side, Toshiba has Paramount, Dreamworks, and Universal in its team. Warner Bros. remains neutral, creating content for both formats.

News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch, however, didn’t hold back as he said that Paramount accepted a substantial amount of money from Toshiba to go exclusive. He says the deal was worth US$ 150 million.

Disney announced at the same confab that it will continue to grow its robust business opportunities worldwide, expanding to Russia, China, and India for some opportunities to entertain and help Blu-ray out along the way.