Major setback to Sony and Blu-ray
In what could be considered as a massive blow to the momentum that Blu-ray was generating, both Paramount and Dreamworks have announced exclusive support for HD-DVD. In the following press release from Viacom, both Paramount and Dreamworks have officially announced that they will be releasing their high-def content on HD-DVD only:
Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B) and DreamWorks Animation SKG (NYSE: DWA), each announced today that they will exclusively support the next-generation HD DVD format on a worldwide basis. The exclusive HD DVD commitment will include all movies distributed by Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Nickelodeon Movies and MTV Films, as well as movies from DreamWorks Animation, which are distributed exclusively by Paramount Home Entertainment.
This is definitely a major shock to the Blu-ray camp as until now, Paramount and DreamWorks were supporting both the formats.