HD DVD & Blu Ray on Front page?

[HappySqurriel]

http://www.tvpredictions.com/iger030707.htm Washington, D.C. (March 7, 2007)-- Disney CEO Bob Iger says the HDTV DVD business will not take off until a clear winner emerges. The Sony-backed Blu-ray format is battling the Toshiba-supported HD-DVD format for the new high-def disc audience. However, sales of both formats have been disappointing due to consumer confusion over the disc war and high player prices. In an address yesterday before the 2007 Bear Stearns Media Conference, Iger said that new technologies such as high-def DVDs and movie downloads are not threatening the standard DVD business. “We’re very confident the DVD business is going to continue to be successful,” Iger said, according to Video Business. “We sold 130 million DVDs last quarter. This business is not going away for us at all.” The Disney chief said the growth in HDTV set sales will spark more interest in HDTV DVD players, but many consumers will hesitate to buy one until one format wins. According to Video Business, Iger did not predict that Blu-ray would win although Disney is supporting the format over HD-DVD. Ted Sarandos, Netflix's chief content officer, told the conference yesterday that consumers spent only $200 million in 2006 on movie downloads and HDTV DVDs, far less than what was spent on standard DVDs. Video Business writes that Sarandos said Netflix customers who rent HDTV DVDs report a 80-90 percent satisfaction level. However, he agreed with Iger that the business will struggle until one format wins.