Sony Pictures have became the first major studio to put a price tag on Blu-ray discs when they become available in U.S. stores this year.
At the same time, the studio unveiled what many observers believe will be a key component of the next-generation, high-definition optical disc's marketing strategy: bundling various formats together to give consumers more flexibility and mobility.
Catalog Blu-ray disc titles will wholesale for $17.95 (£10), about the same as DVDs when that format hit the market in 1997. New-release Blu-ray discs will wholesale for $23.45 (£13.67), a premium of 15%-20% over what suppliers were charging for new theatrical DVDs.
The higher pricing structure for new releases is meant to accommodate the sell-through and rental markets, said Benjamin Feingold, president of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. He noted that in at the dawn of DVD in 1997, most movies initially were released on rental-priced videocassettes.
"The premium is for a way better format and to remind retailers that at the time we launched DVD, VHS was selling for $55 wholesale in the first window," Feingold said.
He added that Sony will not attach any suggested list prices to its Blu-ray discs, at least not at this time.
"From the retail perspective, this is going to be a hot product, and retailers will no doubt determine their own margin structure," he said. "We believe in a free market."
Blu-ray discs likely will start showing up in stores by early summer, sources say. In advance of that, Sony is bowing a bundling concept to DVD and the Universal Media Disc (UMD) that it may migrate to Blu-ray.
