The format war between Blu-ray and HD DVD heated up last month with news that Paramount and Dreamworks Animation had decided to drop support for Blu-ray and back HD DVD exclusively.[1] Rumors about a $150 million deal brokered by Paramount parent company Viacom were confirmed by the New York Times, which spoke on condition of anonymity to two Viacom executives with knowledge of the agreement.[2] The deal is expected to last for 18 months, although Paramount executive vice president and chief technology officer Alan Bell asserts that “at this moment in time, it’s an indefinite commitment.”[3]
Up until this point, HD DVD had been in a tough spot. In terms of movie studio support, it was lagging far behind its competition, with Disney, MGM/Columbia Tristar, Fox, and Lions Gate solely backing Blu-ray, while only Universal supported HD DVD exclusively (Paramount and Warner released for both formats).[4] Recent news that Blockbuster had decided to side with the Blu-ray camp as well as sales reports showing Blu-ray outselling HD DVD 2-to-1 for the first half of 2007 signaled the cessation of the format war.[5] The end of the match was in sight: HD DVD had its back against the ropes, and Blu-ray was winding up for that final haymaker that would seal the deal.
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