Woolworths drops HD-DVD sales from High Street

Matt Martin 12:39 (BST) 28/01/2008

PS3 has helped Blu-ray dominate market, says retailer

Woolworths has said that it will no longer sell the HD-DVD movie format in stores from March.

The company has seen sales of rival format Blu-ray outsell HD-DVD by ten-to-one over the Christmas period, with the retailer stating that the PlayStation 3 has been the major factor in establishing market dominance.

"Sales figures clearly show that the market is moving towards one format of high definition DVD," commented DVD buyer for Woolworths Steven McGunigel, reports The Retail Bulletin.

"The main reason is the success of Sony's PlayStation 3 machine. Because it plays Blu-ray discs, there are over three quarters of a million homes in the UK that can view the new high definition format."

"There is no where near that number of HD-DVD players around," added McGunigel.

The retailer is not yet giving up on the format entirely – HD-DVD movies will still be sold via the company's website.

Toshiba Corp. will feature HD DVD in a scheduled Super Bowl XLII ad during the Feb. 3 telecast from Glendale, Ariz.

Jodi Sally, VP of marketing for the Toshiba Digital A/V Group, confirmed the Japanese consumer electronics giant will run the 30-second ad as part of a marketing strategy intended to reinvigorate HD DVD.

She said the spot would highlight the HD-A3, HD-A30 and HD-A35 players, which Toshiba recently cut the retail prices.

“It has always been our strategy to reach HDTV owners, using advertising on football games as just one vehicle,” Sally said. “If you recall, we had advertised on Sunday Night Football all season long.” Last year, the HD DVD Promotion Group sent a tour bus to Miami for the Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Bears rain-soaked affair decked out with a mobile theater and sound system to showcase the HD DVD experience.

Widely considered the most important (and expensive) domestic marketing day on the TV calendar, high-def is playing a major role in the Super Bowl as the perennial media showcase not only will be telecast in HD but also represents a major marketing tool for sales of HDTV.

Many CE retailers, including Best Buy, Circuit City, Amazon.com, Fry’s Electronics, Costco and Ken Cranes Big Screen Headquarters, are heavily promoting HDTV with Super Bowl specials that include a free Sony or Sharp Blu-ray Disc player. Fox TV, which is televising the game between the New York Giants and New England Patriots, reportedly charged $2.7 million per 30-second spot.

The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) contemplated running an ad when a spot opened up at 50% the rate but decided against it when a Super Bowl-caliber ad couldn’t be completed in time, said sources familiar with situation. Andy Parsons, SVP, industrial solutions business group, Panasonic Electronics and spokesperson for the BDA, confirmed the group would not air an ad.

“I certainly admire [Toshiba’s] chutzpah,” Parsons said. “They can certainly choose to do as they please with their marketing. Running a Super Bowl ad is not likely to convince consumers that HD DVD will win the format war.”

Separately, Blockbuster spokesperson Randy Hargrove confirmed the No. 1 DVD rental chain — unlike last year — would not run a Super Bowl. Anheuser-Busch again is the leading Super Bowl marketer with a reported seven spots slated for broadcast.

Other brands airing Super Bowl ads include Audi, Bridgestone, CareerBuilder, Cars.com, Coca-Cola Classic, FedEx, Garmin, Gatorade G2, GoDaddy, Hyundai, Pepsi-Cola, Planters, Salesgenie, Sunsilk, Tide to Go, Toyota, Under Armour and Victoria’s Secret.