MGM Realigns Home Video Division with Fox; Sony to Continue to Release Studio's Blu-Ray Product
Posted Wed May 31, 2006 at 12:35 PM PDT by
In a surprise move, MGM today announced that it is shifting its domestic
home entertainment distribution business from Sony to Fox, though Sony will
continue to service the studio's upcoming Blu-ray disc releases.
Only the latest left turn in MGM's increasingly convoluted backstory, the studio's
announcement comes only months after Sony purchased a 20 percent stake in MGM,
which included a distribution pact for its 4,000-strong title library.
That deal was widely seen in the industry as a boost for the Sony-backed Blu-ray
format; the studio had announced plans to release nearly half a dozen MGM catalog
favorites as part of its initial two waves of Blu-ray disc titles beginning
June 20, including such his as '
The
Terminator,' '
Species'
and '
RoboCop.'
Although Fox is also a Blu-ray supporter, MGM's move away from Sony has left
industry to speculate that the shift may cost Sony control over the timing and
pricing of MGM catalog releases.
However, Sony Home Entertainment president of publicity Fritz Friedman
today told High Def Digest that, "We [Sony] are going to be distributing
the MGM Blu-ray titles as per usual." All
of Sony's June and July Blu-ray disc releases, including MGM titles,
remainscheduled for release as originally announced, Friedman confirmed.
MGM has also told Video Business that the company's move to Fox for its home
video distribution
will not affect the latest movies in both of its popular
James Bond and Rocky franchises, which are co-productions betwen Sony and MGM; the latest installments of both series are
due to hit theaters this fall.
Sony will continue to distribute titles for both franchises on home video for
MGM, the studio said.
For a complete listing of upcoming Sony and MGM Blu-ray title releases, visit
our complete
Blu-ray
Release Schedule.