Although it was tough to see then, the writing has been on the wall in hindsight. After Warner Bros. absorbed New Line Pictures, characterizing it as a "redundant infrastructure," it's now looking to focus less on cranking out blockbuster theatrical releases and more on pushing Blu-ray / VOD adoption. Jeff Bewkes, president and CEO of Time Warner Inc., has noted that the studio will trim its theatrical slate in half from two years ago, as it hopes to garner more profits by simply "building wider consumer adoption of Blu-ray" and expanding day-and-date VOD releases. Even more interesting was Bewkes assertion that the "expansion of Blu-ray, VOD and related improvements in electronic distribution by moving away from physical DVD would help grow filmed entertainment." After looking at a few motion picture budgets, it's pretty easy to see why distribution looks so delicious. [Disclosure: Engadget is part of the Time Warner family]

[Thanks, xdragon]

C'mon, you know you've asked yourself this. After all, aren't we all tense with anticipation just waiting to see what titles studios are planning to re-release on BD, only to kvetch mightily after our favorite flicks get pushed aside for films that "no one will watch?" Thankfully, Sound & Vision has taken at least some of the mystery out and has revealed five shortcuts to getting a film released on Blu-ray. Essentially, studios are looking for titles that will enable BD setups to shine, and if the movie has proven popular in the past, there's a decent shot the demand will be there for a BD release. Additionally, studios love re-releasing originals when a sequel is in theaters, and of course, if it can stop long enough to hear fans clamoring for a specific title, that too could urge them to crank out a 1080p edition. Be sure and give the read link a visit for the full rundown.

As we poked and prodded through the ups and downs of the format war, we noticed a recurring theme -- HD DVD seemed to have things going in its favor on more than one occasion. Consumers adored the low priced hardware, studios were coming on board and Sony's PlayStation 3 (along with all the other Blu-ray players) was priced extraordinarily high. Not to mention Sony's absolutely awful track record with formats. In a recent interview with ABI Principal Analyst Steve Wilson, BetaNews found that he believed that the outcome of the format war wouldn't necessarily benefit the consumer. Besides being more expensive and less developed, some Blu-ray players have had quite the time performing as advertised. According to ABI, "it wasn't customers' likes or dislikes that powered the fatal blow in the format war, it was Warner Bros.' decision to switch allegiance to Blu-ray, along with subsequent moves to dump HD DVD by major retailers such as Wal-Mart, Netflix and Blockbuster." Frankly, we can't argue with that one iota.

[Thanks, Andrew]

Feeling as if Starz's offerings are a bit stale of late? Apparently, so did its management team, as it went out and landed deals with five major studios with the sole purpose of bulking up its movie lineup. Reportedly, the network inked "exclusive first run output deals with Sony Pictures Television and Disney-ABC Domestic Television" that are set to last "well into the next decade," and just in case that wasn't enough to keep your clicker on the counter, it also picked up a number of library acquisitions from Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution, MGM Worldwide Television Group and Universal Pictures. More specifically, Starz should receive some 1,200 top movie titles and TV series from the latter three's film vaults, and the content can be distributed across Starz HD, Starz On Demand and even Vongo. For more details and a glimpse at what's on the horizon, hit up the read link below.

[Via MultiChannel News]

Another day, another format war rumor. Business Week has a lengthy writeup on the possibility of lone dual-format holdout Warner Brothers switching to Blu-ray exclusively, and how it could affect the outcome of the long-running feud between high-definition disc formats HD DVD and Blu-ray. The rumor gets its seed from vice-chairman of Lionsgate Michael Burns, who claims that Warner will be turning blue soon. With Warner on their side, the Blu-ray studios would hold a 70% market share for the DVD market. Of course, if Warner shifts red, then the studio market will again be split into two equal halves, and consumers are left to wait and see if one format can outsell, outspend, or outlast the other until only one format remains. The stakes are so high that top execs from both camps are banging down Warner's door with personal meetings -- and possibly even truckloads of cash -- to get Warner to turn to their side. One thing you can be sure of is that Warner is going to be keeping an extra close eye on the dual-format release of Harry Potter next week for guidance.

[Thanks, Michael P.]

We've seen various slates of HD DVD / Blu-ray titles come out today, and heading up the rear of the release lists is none other than Lionsgate. While a Lionsgate film (The Descent) has caused quite a bit of fuss lately, the studio is hoping to create some positive PR noise by announcing that 40 BD titles should be hitting shelves with its name on it during this year, starting with Crank. It also highlighted the Golden Globe-winning TV series Weeds would be making its way to Blu-ray disc, as well as Ultimate Avengers I and II on the animation side. If you're anxious to get a few more Lionsgate productions in your collection, Employee of the Month is landing on January 16th, while the sure-to-be-successful Saw III hits on the 23rd. Overall, Lionsgate's 2007 list is far from spectacular, but it's got a bit of everything mixed in, including one of our personal favorites: Reservoir Dogs on February 6th. Click on through to see the first 21 titles to be released from Lionsgate on Blu-ray disc this year.