Twentieth Century Fox to Support Blu-ray Disc Format
Studio to Release Wide Range of New Products and Titles from Its Vast Film and Television Library
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 29, 2005--Twentieth Century Fox, a member of the Board of Directors of the Blu-ray Disc Association since October 2004, announced today that it will release content on the new high definition Blu-ray Disc format through its subsidiary Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC. The company will begin releasing new films, TV programming and other titles from Fox's vast celebrated library of best-selling film and television programming when Blu-ray hardware launches in North America, Japan, and Europe.
Fox's film library includes films ranging from the ALIEN, DIE-HARD and X-MEN series, I, ROBOT, SOMETHING ABOUT MARY and MOULIN ROUGE to SOUND OF MUSIC, ALL ABOUT EVE, LAURA and GENTLEMAN'S AGREEMENT. The equally vast television library ranges from such shows as THE SIMPSONS, FAMILY GUY, 24 and X-FILES to MASH, LOST IN SPACE, IN LIVING COLOR and MARY TYLER MOORE.
Fox's commitment to emerging technologies is dedicated to enhancing the consumer experience of its products and providing for backward compatibility with their existing home entertainment libraries while also aggressively protecting its intellectual property from piracy. The Blu-ray companies fully embrace the Studio's steadfast commitment to the fight against piracy and the preservation of the integrity of its properties. In fact, Fox's commitment to publish on Blu-ray is a direct result of the organization's recent adoption of copyright protection measures, including renewable security, that address the needs and concerns of the studio and the entire Hollywood community.
"We are in creative collaboration with some of the best filmmakers in the business and the most important thing to the studio is that we continue to provide the best possible presentation of our films," commented Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman, Chairmen, Fox Filmed Entertainment. "Creative advances in movie-making technology have consistently helped raise the bar in films today and with the Blu-ray Disc the bar has now been raised for the home viewing experience. We will take full advantage of all the creative possibilities it offers."
"Blu-ray is a superior high definition technology that is a full step forward in the evolution of consumer packaged media," added Mike Dunn, President Worldwide, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. "For consumers, the release of our films on Blu-ray will provide in-home entertainment beyond anything they have imagined. On the business side, the advanced functionality, picture quality and data capacity at a competitive manufacturing cost along with 'room for growth' as new consumer usage options are developed, fully realizes the promise of a next generation format and represents the future of home entertainment."
Blu-ray Disc is a next generation optical disc format developed for high-definition video and high-capacity software applications. A single-layer Blu-ray Disc will hold up to 25 gigabytes of data and a dual-layer Blu-ray Disc will hold up to 50 gigabytes of data. This greater storage capacity enables the Blu-ray Disc to store over five times the amount of content than is possible with current DVDs, and is particularly well-suited for high definition feature films with extended levels of additional bonus and interactive material. Blu-ray also features the most advanced copy protection, backward compatibility with the current DVD format (meaning Blu-ray players will play existing DVDs), connectivity and advanced interactivity.
About the Blu-ray Disc Association:
The Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA) is responsible for establishing format standards and promoting and further developing business opportunities for Blu-ray Disc -- the next-generation optical disc for storing high-definition movies, photos and other digital content. The BDA has more than 130 members. Its Board of Directors consists of Apple Computer, Inc.; Dell Inc.; Hewlett Packard Company; Hitachi, Ltd.; LG Electronics Inc.; Mitsubishi Electric Corporation; Panasonic (Matsushita Electric); Pioneer Corporation; Royal Philips Electronics; Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.; Sharp Corporation; Sony Corporation; TDK Corporation; Thomson; Twentieth Century Fox; and Walt Disney Pictures and Television.
About Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC:
A recognized global industry leader, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC is the worldwide marketing, sales and distribution company for all Fox film and television programming on VHS and DVD as well as video acquisitions and original productions. Each year the Company introduces hundreds of new and newly enhanced products, which it services to retail outlets -- from mass merchants and warehouse clubs to specialty stores and e-commerce - throughout the world. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC is a subsidiary of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, a News Corporation company.
