Retailers adjust to cancellation of Blu Blades

Following DreamWorks/Paramount HD DVD-only position

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 8/24/2007

AUG. 24 | Retailers scrambled to change plans last week after Paramount Home Entertainment said it will exclusively release titles in HD DVD, cancelling the Blu-ray Disc version of Aug. 28 release Blades of Glory, for which the studio had accepted orders.

Hastings Entertainment did not have time to change weekend circulars promoting Blades of Glory on Blu-ray. Instead, store managers will place disclaimer signs aside Blades of Glory displays, explaining to people that due to recent studio decisions, the film is no longer available on that format.

“I think there will be a lot of people who purchased BD titles that will be upset that they can’t get [Blades of Glory] on Blu-ray,” said Mason Goodfellow, Hastings video category manager. “They are now questioning about what they got in the past, where they invested money in Blu-ray already.”

Up through Aug. 20, the day that Paramount and DreamWorks Animation issued a press release on their change in format support, Amazon.com and DVDEmpire.com were accepting pre-orders for Blades of Glory on Blu-ray.

As early as Tuesday, Aug. 21, Amazon.com was listing the Blu-ray version as unavailable. As of Thursday, the description next to the Blu-ray edition had changed to ‘Sign up to be notified when this item becomes available.’

DVDEmpire.com swiftly e-mailed customers to inform them about the cancellation.

“We’re just handling it the way we would any other cancellation of an upcoming title,” said Shannon Nutt, DVDEmpire.com editorial director.

Similarly, Hastings and others, including Newbury Comics, were able to get their Blu-ray orders canceled fast. In the units’ place, Hastings opted to ask for a few more HD DVD copies of Blades of Glory. But Newbury kept their HD DVD order as is, since customer high-def demand remains relatively modest.

Citing sales trends, Blockbuster recently expanded Blu-ray titles exclusively in hundreds of its stores. Spokesman Randy Hargrove said the chain is not reversing this rollout but will be closely watching customer behavior. Blockbuster does offer HD DVD and Blu-ray in 250 stores and online through Total Access.

“Our announcement with Blu-ray was not a format endorsement,” said Hargrove. “We’re going to follow the demands of our customers, and if in the future that means adding more HD DVD titles in our stores, then we’ll do so.”

Newbury buyer Ian Leshin added, “I don’t know what data [Paramount and DreamWorks] are looking at when they are making this decision. The right move to me seems to go the other way. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.”

Hastings’ Goodfellow believes the two formats may very well be evenly matched this fourth quarter. At this point, Blu-ray tops HD DVD in sales there by a two-to-one margin.

“Paramount has some of the big titles this Christmas season, Transformers and [DreamWorks Animation’s] Shrek the Third,” said Goodfellow. “This could even up some of the numbers. It could really make it a 50-50 battle for units and really prolong the format battle.”

Ned Randolph contributed

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