Sony gives BD Live marketing slow start

Studio tests waters before bulking up promotional efforts

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 4/10/2008

APRIL 10 | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is going to market its first BD Live, Web-enabled features slowly.

The studio makes little mention of BD Live in TV ads or newspaper circulars for April 8 Blu-ray Disc releases Walk Hard and The Sixth Day, its first with Web connectivity features. But that’s the point, according to the studio, as it gathers feedback from customers in order to refine future Web extras and promotional strategies.

“It hasn’t been overly publicized,” said Rich Marty, Sony VP of new business development. “These early titles will let us gauge what consumers are downloading, what kind of volume there is. That will help us figure out what to plan on upcoming titles.”

Marty noted that Sony did launch a BD Live micro Web site on April 8 at www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/bdlive. For now, the site mainly offers a basic explanation for BD Live, telling visitors they can refresh Blu-ray titles with downloaded content.

Sony is gradually ramping up the complexity of BD Live features. Walk Hard offers three featurettes that can be downloaded from the PS3 BD Live network. Sony’s June 17 Men in Black release will offer more advanced peer-to-peer online gaming.

“This summer, we will scale up marketing of BD Live and incorporate it into title promotions,” said Marty. “We’ll also make BD Live a stronger presence on the title menu. We’ll further develop how we can include the hardware companies and retailers.”

BD Live began to trickle out on titles such as Lionsgate’s January releases War and Saw IV, but no hardware device could handle the technology until Sony made available a BD Live firmware upgrade for PlayStation 3 on March 25. PS3 is still the only machine that can play BD Live features.

Nevertheless, studios are counting on the technology to enhance the fan experience and add value with such features as extras that weren’t finished in time to slot into the mastering of the physical Blu-ray disc.

“The Walk Hard featurettes are the perfect example of adding additional content after the” production of the disc, said Marty. “The great thing about this is that it’s a unique ability to extend the relationship with consumers.”