Graffeo to leave high-def post at Universal
By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 3/26/2008
MARCH 26 | Following the death of HD DVD, one of the format’s gurus, Ken Graffeo, will leave his high-definition marketing role at Universal Studios Home Entertainment.
Graffeo
Although still employed at Universal, where he has served as executive VP of HD strategic marketing since early last year, Graffeo is exploring other opportunities, including ones outside of the studio. He didn’t specify a timetable for when he’ll make a final decision of whether to leave Universal.
Conceivably, Universal will need an executive to drive the marketing of its forthcoming titles in Blu-ray Disc, which the studio started backing exclusively shortly after HD DVD’s demise.
However, Graffeo said he will not take on a Blu-ray role at the studio, which could be comparable to his responsibilities for HD DVD. That sort of transition wouldn’t work because in recent months, Graffeo had become more entrenched in his additional role as head of the HD DVD Promotional Group and less involved with handling specific Universal titles. The HD DVD Promotional Group dissolved on the heels of Toshiba’s February announcement that it was ending its support for its HD DVD hardware.
“I was setting up that infrastructure [of the HD DVD Promotion Group] on a day to day basis,” said Graffeo. “And now that group is no longer in existence. … Now I’m looking at what my different options are and what my next moves will be.”
Although Blu-ray title sales outsold HD DVD titles on a two-to-one basis through much of last year, Graffeo aggressively promoted the HD DVD format. Under his charge, Universal rolled out the industry’s first title enhanced with e-commerce capabilities, the Oct. 9 HD DVD release Evan Almighty.
Universal hasn’t specified how it will operate its Blu-ray business going forward, and it has not announced its first releases in the format. It appears that the studio is still figuring out how a Blu-ray unit and/or executives will fit into its company and what their functions will be.
Prior to his high-def role at Universal, Graffeo served as executive VP of marketing.
