Harry Potter heads to Universal Studios Japan

Harry Potter has conquered the world with books and then with movies. Now he’s doing the same with theme parks.

Universal Studios Japan on Thursday will unveil plans to build the first international version of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, the blockbuster attraction that has drawn millions of fans to Universal’s Orlando resort and is coming to Los Angeles.

The Osaka destination -- expected to begin construction in the next few weeks with a planned opening in late 2014 and an expected cost of about $500 million -- brings Hogwarts Castle and rides including Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey to the boy wizard’s biggest market outside of the United States.

The eight Potter movies grossed nearly $900 million in Japan -- more even than in his home country of Britain. Products including magic wand chopsticks have made the Harry Potter brand Japan's most successful movie-based consumer products line of the last decade.

But the book and film series are both complete, and fans who have grown into their 20s and 30s are buying fewer toys. Harry Potter is in need of a business transformation. The answer from Warner Bros. -- which owns the licensing rights to author J.K. Rowling’s books -- is theme parks. Potter has driven a stunning 68% increase in attendance at Universal Orlando and spurred visitors to spend millions on butterbeer during their visits and paraphernalia on their way out.

"This type of immersion is what the fans crave more than buying traditional merchandise," said Warner Bros. Consumer Products President Brad Globe. "Our strategy is focused on theme parks because it's a different experience. They’ve read the books and seen the movies, but now they can enter the world."

Despite the sluggish world economy, theme park owners have been investing and expanding in recent years. Market leader Walt Disney Co. is spending $4.5 billion to build a new park in Shanghai, $1 billion to upgrade Anaheim’s California Adventure Park, and $500 million on a new attraction in Orlando based on James Cameron’s hit film "Avatar."

Universal, meanwhile, has a major expansion of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando planned in addition to the version in Los Angeles. And new Universal-branded parks are in the works in South Korea, Dubai and Russia.

"Across the board, theme park developers are doubling down on renovations and expansions," said Nima Samidi, an industry analyst at IbisWorld. "There's particularly a lot of activity in Asia because it's a fast-growing market that has a fascination with Western culture."

Revenue at Disney’s theme park unit grew 10% in the company’s last fiscal year to $11.8 billion, and Universal's was up 24% to $2 billion.

At Universal Studios Japan, which is owned by private investors including investment bank Goldman Sachs but licenses its name from the Hollywood entertainment giant, executives engaged in extensive research to gauge the public's interest in a Harry Potter attraction.

In a country of 127 million, more than 80 million tickets to Potter films have been bought and about 24 million books have been sold, giving the story of the orphan boy turned world-saving magician four spots among Japan’s top 10 all-time bestsellers.

The park also conducted surveys to gauge current levels of enthusiasm and what Japanese audiences like most about the series.

"Magical coming-of-age stories play very well in Japan, particularly when they're about the balance between ordinary life and something fantastical," said Glenn Gumpel, president of Universal Studios Japan.

Similarly themed works like the animated movie "Spirited Away" from director Hayao Miyazaki and video game series The Legend of Zelda from Nintendo are among the nation's most popular works of pop culture.

With its opening expected in under three years, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Japan will open sooner than the one in Los Angeles, despite the fact that the deal, which came out of talks that began last summer, was closed more recently.

That’s because at Universal Studios Hollywood, there's no room for expansion, meaning existing attractions must be demolished or renovated to make room for magic. As a result, it's not expected to debut until 2016.

In Osaka, meanwhile, the Wizarding World will be built alongside existing rides based on Spider-Man, "Jurassic Park" and "Jaws."

"We're already growing and expect we’ll get millions more people once we launch Harry Potter," said Gumpel, whose park drew more than 9 million people last year.

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is a cash cow for Warner Bros., which gets a substantial upfront free for each Universal attraction and a share of admissions and merchandise sales. In addition, Warner conducts tours of the soundstage in Leavesden, Britain, where the "Potter" films were shot.

And though there are few rival parks, outside of ones owned by rival Disney, that would be natural homes for Potter rides, the studio already has its eye on eventually launching more Wizarding Worlds.

"A lot of work goes into building these parks, so we’re probably at the limit of what we could manage at the moment," said Globe. "But if some other great opportunity for Harry Potter presents itself, we would certainly take a look at it."

In a statement, Rowling gave her stamp of approval to the newest addition to her Harry Potter empire:

"I was delighted to experience and enjoy the attention to detail, creativity and superb craft that went into the first Wizarding World in Orlando,” she said. “I am equally delighted that the same level of expertise and enjoyment will translate to the new park in Japan.”

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Photo: Promotional art for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios Japan. Credit: Universal Studios Japan.

Warner gets victory in legal fight with Superman heirs' attorney

Warner Bros. has won the rights to use what it believes could be damaging documents in its long-running legal fight to hold on to the rights to Superman.

The ruling from three U.S. Court of Appeals judges issued Tuesday came as part of the studio's lawsuit against Marc Toberoff, a pugnacious attorney who represents the heirs of Superman creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster.

But Warner believes the documents will ultimately prove critical in the effort of its DC Comics division to retain the rights to the superhero, which Toberoff has asserted should revert to the Siegel and Shuster heirs in 2013.

According to Tuesday's ruling, the documents in question were sent by an attorney who formerly worked for Toberoff to Warner Bros. prior to June 2006. A cover letter that accompanied the documents said they show that the Siegel heirs' prior attorney threatened that, if they worked with Toberoff, he would testify that the heirs had previously reached a settlement agreement with the studio.

Warner is apparently hoping to use those documents in its fight over the Superman rights. A judge previously ruled that the Siegel heirs' 50% interest in Superman should revert back to them, and Toberoff is trying to win a similar ruling for the Shuster heirs to take effect in 2013. That would deprive Warner Bros. of control of one of its most valuable and iconic properties.

"We are extremely pleased that the 9th Circuit unanimously found in our favor," a Warner spokesman said in a statement. "The ruling means that defendant Marc Toberoff must now turn over critical evidence in the pending litigation against him and others."

Toberoff had argued the documents were covered under attorney-client privilege. In a statement, he disagreed with the ruling and said it would not affect the overall dispute over the Superman rights:

"We cooperated with the US Attorney's office to enable them to investigate the theft from our law firm of the Siegels' and Shusters' privileged documents. We are disappointed in today's decision which holds that such cooperation with law enforcement by the victims of a privacy crime, itself waives privilege as to stolen documents. However, nothing in this ruling or the documents at issue will affect the merits of this case. We are considering our options as to the ruling, and will continue to vigorously defend our clients' rights."

In an entirely unrelated development, an unnamed bidder paid $160,000 at an online auction Tuesday for the original check that DC comics wrote, more than 74 years ago, to acquire the rights to Superman. The check was made out to Siegel and Shuster in the amount of $412. 

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Photo: Part of a variant cover for DC Comics' new Action Comics No. 1, drawn by Jim Lee. Credit: DC Comics.

Warner Bros. to release Samuel Goldwyn film library on DVD

Seeking to boost its relatively healthy business for classic movies on DVD, Warner Bros. has signed a multi-year deal to release 73 classic films produced by industry legend Samuel Goldwyn.

Among the titles Warner is buying from the producer's son Samuel Goldwyn Jr. are best picture Academy Award winner "The Best Years of Our Lives," the Lou Gehrig biopic "Pride of the Yankees" with Gary Cooper, the musical "Guys and Dolls" with Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, and Danny Kaye's "Hans Christian Andersen."

Some of the movies have never before been released on DVD, and many have not been available on Blu-ray disc or for digital download.

Jeff Baker, executive vice president of theatrical catalog for Warner Bros. home entertainment group, said many of the films will be released as part of packages the studio is already marketing under the brand of its sibling television network Turner Classic Movies. Warner has already released packs of movies, many starring or directed by such well known names as Kirk Douglas and John Ford, in Turner Classic Movies collections for less than $20.

"The theatrical catalog business has been resilient," Baker said. "Our business in catalog is virtually flat, which is outpacing the market."

Warner will start releasing films from Goldwyn's library on DVD late this year. Among the first will be "Guys and Dolls," "Wuthering Heights" with Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon, and "The Bishop's Wife" with Cary Grant.

In the past, Samuel Goldwyn Jr.'s firm, the Samuel Goldwyn Co., released some of the movies on DVD in a partnership with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

"I'm very proud of these pictures and I'm pleased that they'll be released by a company that has so many great pictures of its own, like 'Gone With the Wind' and 'The Wizard of Oz,'" Samuel Goldwyn Jr. said.

Goldwyn's library includes 16 silent films such as "Stella Dallas," "The Winning of Barbara Worth" and "The Night of Love."

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Photo: Michael Hall, Teresa Wright, Fredric March and Myrna Loy in "The Best Years of Our Lives." Credit: American Movie Classics.

Working Hollywood: An armory of costumes for 'Wrath of the Titans'

In a Hollywood obsessed with futuristic CG effects, Simon Brindle does things the old-school way — really old school.

As the costume armor supervisor for “Wrath of the Titans,” the sequel to the 2010 Warner Bros. film “Clash of the Titans” due out March 30, Brindle and his team fashioned the suits of armor worn by Sam Worthington and other actors using leather and wooden mallets and other tools and materials employed by the ancient Greeks.

For the 44-year-old Brindle, it wasn’t too long of a journey from his parents’ farm near Liverpool to the mythological Mount Olympus. As a young boy, he took advantage of the ample space and old pieces of leather and wood that surrounded him to develop his skill for hand-crafting goods.

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Armed with a passion for sculpture, history and epic films such as 1963’s “Jason and the Argonauts,” Brindle pursued a degree in fine arts sculpture at Manchester Polytechnic. After graduation, he got his first taste of costume design and manufacturing when he landed a job at a theater company that mounted historical productions.

Since then, he’s fashioned armor for films such as 2001’s “A Knight’s Tale,” 2004’s “Alexander,” “Clash of the Titans” and the HBO series “Game of Thrones.”

“I love to create things, and this gives me the opportunity to do that,” he said. “But the best part of it is to see your lead guy or your key actors try their armor on and stand up straight and really get a feel for the characters they’re going to play.”

Greek to him: For “Wrath of the Titans,” Brindle’s 15-person team fabricated armor for the principal actors and prototypes for the armies based on costume designs by Jany Temime, who had recently completed work on “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.” “A Greek picture requires essentially Greek skill sets, so it’s literally using wooden stakes, wooden forms, hammers and mallets; trimming away with sharp knives; and shaping and forming and so on,” Brindle said. “So the tools are quite basic — hammers and files, sandpaper, nothing too complex. It’s really what you do with them that counts.”

Best chest forward: To lend authenticity, much of the armor was inspired by the Greek muscle cuirass, a type of armor molded to fit and mimic the wearer’s torso, nipples and all. “They’re based on a perfect anatomical model in a piece of beaten bronze,” Brindle said. “They have a wonderful sculpted chest and abs, and they enhance the appearance of the wearer.”

Flax your muscles: As the king of the gods, the character of Zeus, played by Liam Neeson, required special armor. “Zeus is in a woven, soft-bounded leather and a compressed linen, which is another Greek armor technique,” Brindle said. “They compressed dozens of layers of linen together under an awful lot of weight, and it actually became impervious to blades. So Zeus’ armor was layers of linen and felt and woven leather with fine metal bounding running up and down the surface of the armor — just little bright details that catch the light every now and then.”

Fit for a lady: Brindle constructed Andromeda’s armor from a combination of rigid and soft leathers with etched brass metalwork around the neck and waistline. “The etchings were ancient Macedonian warriors in procession from archaeological finds, Greek vase paintings,” he said. “And that was really nice armor to make, because it’s very well tailored and fits well. It’s got a great line and silhouette to it, and it’s lovely deep reds and burgundies. It looks regal like a piece of armor, but it’s still quite feminine.”

Scale model: The character of Perseus, played by Worthington, needed particularly tough armor given his habit of battling sea monsters and gorgons. “Perseus’ armor is a lamellar armor, which is a series of overlapping leather scales that slide across each other,” Brindle said. “They were something like three by two inches, so it was hundreds of overlapping scales meticulously laced together. And lamellar armor was used in Greece, and it was also used in ancient Japanese culture. So it has an almost slightly samurai silhouette to it.”

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Photos: Left, Simon Brindle, costume armor supervisor for "Wrath of the Titans." Credit: Nicky Jones. Right, Sam Worthington, as Perseus, wears lamellar armor in a scene with Danny Huston playing Poseidon. Credit: Jay Maidment / Warner Bros.

CW switches to next-day streams for episodes of prime-time series

After studying the viewing behavior of its young audience, the CW television network has switched strategies and is no longer delaying the online release of such popular shows as "Gossip Girl" and "The Vampire Diaries."

CW -- a joint venture of CBS Corp. and Warner Bros. -- said Thursday that it would begin making episodes of its prime-time series available several hours after their initial television broadcast. The move is significant because it illustrates how television companies are moving quickly to adapt to rapid changes in technology in an effort to protect important revenue streams.

"Consumers have been telling us that they want the ability to watch their shows whenever and where ever they are," said Rick Haskins, CW executive vice president of marketing and digital programs. "If we don't listen to them, we will be missing an opportunity."

In recent years the CW has made dramatic changes in its online strategy as the network has figured out how to better monetize digital views of its programs.

Early on, the network hesitated to put its shows on the Web at all. But since September 2010 the CW has been delaying the online release of its episodes until three days after airing.

The three-day blackout was designed to boost the TV ratings, and thus protect the important TV advertising revenue. Advertisers pay premiums to reach viewers who watch shows on TV or within three days of their original airing, if the program has been digitally recorded.

CW executives were betting that viewers would be so eager to watch fresh episodes of their most popular shows, including "The Vampire Diaries," "One Tree Hill," and "90210," that they would watch them on TV rather than wait to see them on their laptops.

Viewers were eager to see the latest episode, all right. Research by the Warner Bros. anti-piracy group discovered that nearly a third of online viewers of CW's most popular shows were so motivated that they watched them on a pirate website.

"And 50% of that consumption was done during the first three days after the television run," Haskins said. "That's a lot of money out of our pockets."

By releasing its shows just a few hours after their TV broadcast (at 3 a.m. Pacific time), the CW hopes to reach viewers who otherwise would have pirated them. New technologies also allow the CW to measure the number of online viewers and determine whether they watch the commercials, providing another source of reliable audience data to share with advertisers.

The CW also has been at the forefront of advocating heavier "commercial loads," so the online streams contain as many ads as would be seen in a TV broadcast.

That is a departure from conventional wisdom among most online video distributors. Many believed that online viewers would lack the patience to sit through too many commercials. Sites such as Hulu offer episodes with about half the number of ads that would run on TV.

"We have found that viewers were indeed willing to watch a full commercial load," Haskins said.

CW also announced Thursday that it was introducing its first mobile application for iPad, iPhone and Android platforms. The app enables full-episode streaming of the network's prime-time series and provides a feature for fans to alert their friends on Facebook and Twitter that they are watching a particular episode.

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Photo: Joseph Morgan in a scene from the CW hit "The Vampire Diaries." Credit:  Quantrell Colbert /  CW

CBS chief Leslie Moonves' favorite comedy is not on CBS

CBS Corp. Chief Executive Leslie Moonves made a startling admission at the 36th Annual UCLA Entertainment Symposium on Saturday.

At the end of a wide-ranging question-and-answer session, prominent entertainment attorney Ken Ziffren asked the television titan to name his favorite television comedy.

"Modern Family," Moonves said.  

The Emmy-winning sitcom, created by Steve Levitan and Christopher Lloyd, has become a colossal hit for ABC. The show, now television's top-rated comedy, is produced by another rival, 20th Century Fox Television -- not CBS'  production studio. 

It would hardly be news if any other entertainment CEO said he liked a competitor's program, but this was Moonves. He has been CBS' most ardent cheerleader for more than 15 years, and he has changed the names of several business units in his corporate stable so they would be branded CBS. 

Moonves immediately knew he would take flak.

"I'm going to get in big trouble with Chuck Lorre next week," Moonves said, referring to the prolific producer who has helped build CBS' comedy blocks into some of the most profitable half-hours in all of television with his shows "Two and a Half Men," "The Big Bang Theory" and most recently "Mike & Molly."

Ziffren noted that "Big Bang Theory" (produced by Warner Bros. Television), which airs on CBS on Thursday nights, is beating the once-invincible Fox Broadcasting singing competition "American Idol" in the ratings.

"Look, 'Idol' is still a monster show, I wish that I had it, but it's not what it used to be," Moonves said.

For the record, Moonves said his two favorite dramas on television were "The Good Wife" on CBS and "Homeland" on Showtime, which is owned by CBS. 

"And they are both mine," he said.

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Photo: CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves in April 2011 at the National Assn. of Broadcasters convention. Credit: Julie Jacobson / Associated Press

China getting its own 'Gossip Girl'

 

China is about to get gossipy.

Warner Bros.' international television unit is teaming up with two Chinese production companies to create a Chinese teen drama series inspired by "Gossip Girl," which airs in the United States on the CW Network. "Gossip Girl," about a group of wealthy back-stabbing Manhattanites, has been a cult hit for the cable channel for the last five years and launched the careers of actresses Blake Lively and Leighton Meester.

Tentatively called "China Girl," the show will be in Mandarin and launch in November on satellite television, with "Gossip Girl" creators Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage consulting.

Selling reruns of American movies and television shows to Chinese media outlets is commonplace, however creating new versions of American TV series -- particularly comedies and dramas -- is more unusual. There is a Chinese version of "Ugly Betty," which originated in Colombia and later became a hit on ABC here. Typically though, game shows and reality shows from the U.S. are more likely to be remade for China.

"This is a big event," said Martin Pompadur, a partner of Metan Development Group, a consulting firm that is working with Warner Bros. on the new series. Mei Tian Mei Yu, a Chinese sister company of Metan, is one of the producers of "China Girl," as is Chinese-based H&R Century TV.

"Gossip Girl" is a fairly racy show that doesn't shy away from sexual content. One episode famously saw three characters share the same bed. The Chinese government often has a heavy hand when it comes to content and scripts. 

The scripts for "China Girl" had to be approved in advance by the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television before production could start.

Among the changes, according to Pompadur, is that unlike the American series that originally focused on high school kids, the characters in the Chinese version will already be in college. The initial production order is for 30 episodes.

For Warner Bros., producing a version of "Gossip Girl" for China is part of its push to boost its production output around the globe. The studio produces versions of its U.S. shows -- including the popular reality series "The Bachelor" -- around the globe as well as licenses the formats to its programs to other producers.

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Photo: The CW's "Gossip Girl." Credit: Giovanni Rufino/CW.

Universal keeps peace with Redbox, spurning Warner Bros.

Universal Pictures has decided not to join forces with Warner Bros. in that studio's war with Redbox.

Universal, the studio behind "Safe House" and this weekend's "The Lorax," on Thursday announced an extension of its deal with the DVD rental kiosk company through August 2014 that will maintain the current 28-day wait from when DVDs go on sale until consumers can rent them from Redbox.

The news comes two months after rival studio Warner Bros. said it would only sell discs to Redbox if it agreed to double the length of the so-called rental "window" to 56 days. The Illinois-based company refused and is now buying Warner DVDs directly from retailers at a higher price than it would have paid the studio.

Executives at both Warner and Universal believe that delays on DVD rentals from Redbox, as well as from Netflix, incentivize consumers to buy the discs or rent films via video-on-demand. Both of those transactions are significantly more profitable to studios than kiosk rentals, which cost just $1.20 per night.

As a result, Universal had wanted to follow in Warner's footsteps and extend the delay on its movies to 56 days, said a person familiar with the thinking of executives at the studio who was not authorized to speak publicly. But Universal ultimately concluded that trying to force the issue could actually harm its bottom line, the person added.

The reason: Redbox has been successful in stocking its 35,400 kiosks with recent Warner releases such as "A Very Harold & Kumar 3-D Christmas" and "J. Edgar" in as little as a week after they went on sale. Universal executives concluded that rather than seeing their movies become available in Redbox's kiosks earlier than they currently are, it was better to stick with the current arrangement.

Galen Smith, senior vice president of Redbox, said his company is still making a profit on the Warner discs it buys at retail and is prepared to continue with its current arrangement indefinitely. The company presumably would have taken the same approach with Universal, as Smith made clear that a wait longer than four weeks is not acceptable to Redbox.

"In order to have a strong relationship with a studio, we're willing to extend to 28 days, but we think that is the right amount for our business," he said.

Universal's decision is sure to frustrate executives at Warner Bros., who are tolerating a battle with Redbox that hurts their studio's bottom line because they are standing on a principle that they believe will be beneficial in the long run. If Universal had held its ground on the 56-day window, it might have increased the pressure on Redbox to cave.

Twentieth Century Fox's deal with Redbox, which also includes a 28-day delay, expires in 2013. Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Iger recently said his studio intends to implement a 28-day delay soon as well. An agreement with Sony Pictures, which lets Redbox rent discs the same day they go on sale, expires in September.

Universal's agreement with Netflix expires in April. Warner successfully convinced Netflix to implement a 56-day delay on renting its DVDs through the mail. However, because it kept the 28-day window with Redbox, Universal may not be able to convince Netflix to accept a longer wait.

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Photo: A Redbox kiosk in San Rafael, Calif. Credit: Justin Sullivan / Getty Images.

Billions of DVDs headed to digital cloud, Warner executive says

To get consumers excited about managing their movies online and steer them away from cheap rentals and piracy, Warner Bros. wants to lead the way in persuading people to convert billions of DVDs into digital files.

Warner Home Entertainment Group President Kevin Tsujihara discussed the studio's new initiative, called "disc-to-digital" at the Morgan Stanley technology, media and telecom conference in San Francisco on Wednesday. It will allow consumers to use a variety of methods to turn their DVDs into digital copies stored in a virtual "cloud" that they can watch on Internet-connected devices.

"'Disc-to-digital' is the solution to unlock the value of existing libraries," Tsujihara said. "We're leading industry efforts to launch services so consumers can convert libraries easily, safely and at reasonable prices."

The first phase of "disc-to-digital," Tsujihara said, will let DVD owners take their discs into stores that will handle the digital conversion. Later on, Internet retailers like Amazon.com will email customers to offer digital copies of DVDs they previously bought. Eventually, consumers will be able to put DVDs into PCs or certain Blu-ray players that will upload a copy, similar to the way people turn music CDs into MP3 files.

Tsujihara didn't say when digital conversions would start or how much they would cost. He did mention that people who own standard DVDs will have the option of getting a high-definition digital copy for an extra fee. The potential audience is huge, the Warner executive said, given that about 10 billion DVDs have been sold in the U.S. and another 10 billion overseas.

"Disc-to-digital" could help to promote UltraViolet, the multi-studio initiative that gives consumers digital copies of new movies they buy on DVD. As the chief executive of Warner Bros.' parent company Time Warner Inc., Jeff Bewkes, did Tuesday, Tsujihara defended the rocky start for UltraViolet last fall. However, he added, "The launch wasn't perfect, I'll be the first one to admit it."

Persuading consumers to keep buying movies and building collections in the digital age is crucial to the bottom line of Warner Bros. and Hollywood's other major studios, Tsujihara said. Sales are 20 to 30 times more profitable than low-cost rentals from Redbox or Netflix.

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Photo: Kevin Tsujihara. Credit: Warner Bros.

Time Warner CEO Bewkes defends UltraViolet launch, pumps digital

Time Warner Chief Executive Jeff Bewkes defended last year's shaky public debut of the digital movie technology UltraViolet, led by his company's studio Warner Bros., claiming it was imperative to launch early rather than wait for further improvements.

"You get into this debate, 'Should you wait until it's perfect?' " he said at a Deutsche Bank-sponsored media and telecommunications conference in Palm Beach, Fla., on Tuesday. "The reason we didn't is consumers are used to seeing these new products improve over time. They know version 3.0 is going to be better than 1.0."

UltraViolet allows people who buy compatible DVDs and Blu-ray discs to also get a copy of a movie stored online that they can access on compatible Internet-connected devices. Warner and other studios are counting on the new technology to encourage people to keep buying movies, instead of renting or illegally pirating them, in the digital age.

"Some have speculated ... consumers don't want to own movies in a digital environment," Bewkes said. "We don't think that's right. One of the biggest problems is that while it's easy to rent a movie and watch it on your TV, until now it has not been easy to buy a movie digitally, manage a digital collection and watch it on the device of your choosing."

More than 1 million people have registered to use UltraViolet accounts, according a recent report on PaidContent. However, the UltraViolet initiative, which includes most Hollywood studios, suffered a wave of bad publicity when it launched this past fall. Consumers complained about cumbersome user restrictions and a complicated registration process.

Warner is the only studio that includes UltraViolet copies with every disc it sells. Sony Pictures, Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures include it only with select films. 20th Century Fox isn't expected to jump on board until later this year, while Walt Disney Pictures is not part of the UV consortium.

At the conference, which is attended by media business investors, Bewkes urged his audience to pressure other entertainment companies to more aggressively support UltraViolet. "If we don't" he said, "we run the real risk of habituating consumers to rental when in fact they may prefer to own and build collections of movies."

Studios make significantly larger profits from movie sales than rentals.

Bewkes also urged attendees to pressure other media companies to put more television content online as part of TV Everywhere, which lets cable subscribers watch channels on digital devices. Warner has aggressively supported that initiative, making available more than 1,000 hours of content from its cable channels, including TNT and TBS, as well as more than 1,600 hours for the similar HBO Go.

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Photo: Time Warner Inc. CEO Jeff Bewkes. Credit: Brendan Hoffman / Bloomber