Warner Bros in marketing shake-up

Warner Brothers has shaken up its marketing department in a bid to capitalise on the growth of the international box office, consolidating its domestic and international theatrical marketing divisions into one unit. The studio, which recently scored with I Am Legend , has appointed Sue Kroll to the new position of president, worldwide marketing. Alan Horn, president and chief operating officer of Warner Bros, which is part of Time Warner, said the move reflected the "globalisation" of the film industry, with more titles released "day and date", or simultaneously in multiple markets. (Financial Times)

Apple shakes up online video plan

Apple has overhauled key elements of its online video strategy following an admission by Steve Jobs on Tuesday that the company’s early efforts had been a disappointment. The changes involve a new online rental service for movies, which was first reported in the FT last month, and a revamp of the Apple TV set-top box so that viewers can stream movies direct from the internet, without the need for a computer. In a rare admission that Apple’s first attempts had failed, Mr Jobs conceded that customers had not taken to watching online video the way Apple had expected. (Financial Times)

Analysis: Looks like Blu-ray Finally Have Won the High Def War

It looks like this year’s Consumer Electronics Show might be remembered for Sony’s (NYSE: SNE) Blu-ray disc winning the high def disc format war. With Warner (NYSE: TWX) announcing that they are going exclusively with Blu-ray and rumors that Paramount will do the same, it might just be checkmate for Toshiba's HDDVD format. (Digital Media Wire)