Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE) will be the first Hollywood studio to distribute high-definition Blu-ray Disc™ in the Chinese market, it was announced today by T Paul Miller, SPHE’s Senior Vice President, International and Kenny Ling, General Manager of Excel Media (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, SPHE’s local distribution partner.

“We’re thrilled to be the first to offer the high-quality HD product that discerning Chinese customers demand and deserve,” said Miller.

An initial slate of 30 Blu-ray Disc titles will coincide with Sony Electronics’ introduction of the popular BDP-S350 model Blu-ray player to the Chinese market on 21 November 2008, and will include both new releases and popular favorites.

Ling commented, “We are very happy to be the first video distriburtor releasing legitimate Blu-ray Disc in China. We believe that transforming the home entertainment experience to high definition is an essential trend. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment plays a big role in this video format transformation and Excel Media will continue to release more high quality legitimate Blu-ray Disc available to consumers in China.”

Titles available at launch include Hancock, Kung Fu Hustle, Open Season, the Spider-Man trilogy, xXx, S.W.A.T., Vertical Limit, Men in Black, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The Water Horse, Peter Pan, Erin Brockovich, In The Line of Fire, Tears of the Sun, The Patriot, Into the Blue, Hitch, Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, Are We Done Yet?, The Pursuit of Happyness, Mirror Mask, RV, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Rundown, 50 First Dates, and Big Fish.

Consumers will be able to purchase many of these titles at participating retailers including Sony Style and Joyo.com, for around 205 RMB.

Initial shipments will be manufactured and imported from outside China, with plans to begin local production of Blu-ray Discs within the year.

About Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE’s global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sonypictures.com.

Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI) and Bonver, one of the leading home entertainment providers in Scandinavia, today announced the completion of an Electronic Sell Through (EST) agreement that sees Sony Pictures titles available to digitally purchase on Bonver’s online service; www.film2home.com spanning Norway, Sweden and Finland. The announcement was made by Stuart Baxter, Executive Vice President, European Distribution, SPTI.

The agreement covers all current titles from Sony Pictures as well as a wide selection of popular library titles. Available immediately are some sought after movies including Ghost Rider starring Nicolas Cage and Spider-Man 3 with Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst and other blockbuster hits are also available at launch including The Da Vinci Code starring Tom Hanks and Audrey Tautou. These are among the titles that customers of www.film2home.com can view and retain on their PCs with the range of movies being expanded frequently over the coming months.

Commenting on the agreement, Baxter said: “Bonver has been a long-standing partner of our Home Entertainment business and we are pleased to now extend that relationship through the digital delivery of our movies via the film2home service. Scandinavia has been at the forefront of making content available to customers digitally and this EST agreement with Bonver is an important milestone for our business in the region.”

Also commenting, Cecilia Versteegh, founder of Bonver and film2home, said: “We are extremely happy that Sony Pictures Television International has chosen us as their first partner in the Nordic countries. Their movie line-up is strong and is an important step for us in building a large catalogue with high quality movies”.

About Bonver

Bonver is the Nordic region’s major home entertainment distributor. It distributes films (rental or sell-through), music, and multimedia productions in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Iceland. film2home is the Nordic region’s major service for downloading and streaming movies. The service is currently available in Sweden, Norway and Finland. The service is reached via www.film2home.com, via Windows Media Player, Windows XP Media Center Edition and several IPTV operators and city networks.

About Sony Pictures Television International

Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI) is the division of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) responsible for all television business outside of the United States. SPTI operates three complementary lines of business: 1) distribution of SPE’s feature films and television programming to television, mobile and digital platforms around the world, 2) local television production in key international markets, and 3) international television networks. In addition to being a leader in the distribution of current and classic U.S. and international films and television product worldwide, SPTI produces high profile, locally produced television in local languages. With dedicated offices in France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Miami (Latin America), the People’s Republic of China, Russia, Spain and the United Kingdom, SPTI currently oversees production in nine regions of the world and is the leader in international television production among all major Hollywood studios. SPTI’s worldwide television networks portfolio is a key strategy in the SPE’s long-range commitment to the global marketplace, with almost 50 networks in more than 130 countries reaching more than 300 million households worldwide. SPTI is a Sony Pictures Entertainment company.

Total Blu-ray Disc movie sales across Europe have topped one million units, it was announced today by the Blu-ray Disc Association European Promotions Committee. Of the High Definition movie discs bought by consumers year-to-date in Europe, 73% were in the Blu-ray Disc format and 27% were HD DVD, according to sales data provided by Media Control Gfk International.

The only High Definition packaged media universally supported by the film, music, gaming and computer industries, BD is the #1 selling High Definition packaged media. The one million unit milestone relates to movies only. If BD game disc production is added into the equation, then total number of discs produced for sale in Europe already exceeds 21 million units. The so-called ‘PlayStation effect’ is important since it is creating major economies of scale and makes BD disc replication cost effective.

Blu-ray Disc movie sales experienced their highest weekly sales since the inception of the format, in week 44, topping 66,000 units. * This is due to the launch of new release titles such as 300, Spider-Man 3, Die Hard 4.0 and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.

“This is an important milestone for Blu-ray Disc in Europe and proves once again that whenever consumers have the choice they decide overwhelmingly in favour of BD,” stated Frank Simonis, Chairman of the Blu-ray Disc European Promotions Committee. “Early indicators show that the Christmas holiday season will be exceptionally good for Blu-ray Disc across all categories from packaged media to standalone players and BD capable games consoles.”

News of the 1 millionth Blu-ray Disc sale in Europe was met with pleasure in many of the leading Hollywood studios. Bob Chapek, Worldwide President, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment believes that this news is the prelude for an exponential growth period in BD sales.

“Blu-ray will inevitably prevail because Blu-ray delivers what consumers want: True High Definition picture without compromise, the best sound quality, the best choice in content, the most in special features, and of course the most disc storage capacity. No tradeoffs. No compromises,” commented Chapek.

Added Mike Dunn, Worldwide President, Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, “I think European consumers realize the future is ‘Blu.’ The certainty that Blu-ray will be the successor to DVD boils down to one simple truth: Blu-ray technology is just better. It was created as a new format with plenty of room ready to serve movies, music, gaming and computing — and sometimes all four at once. Having nearly 70 per cent more capacity on a Blu-ray disc, compared to a HD DVD disc, makes Blu-ray ‘future proof’ and allows for unbridled creativity as new interactive features evolve.”

Added David Bishop, Worldwide President, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, “The extremely strong performance of Blu-ray in Europe in a relatively short period of time is no surprise and clearly demonstrates that consumers are embracing Blu-ray as the high definition format of choice. As in the United States, Blu-ray continuously outsells HD DVD by a ratio of more than more than two to one, and 3:1 since the launch of the PlayStation 3 in Europe. Consumer spending is sending an obvious message and this growing sales margin leaves little doubt that Blu-ray is on-track to ultimately win this format war worldwide.”

In Europe, Blu-ray Disc’s sales lead over the rival HD DVD format, increasing monthly since the PS3’s release in March (outselling HD DVD by 2:1 YTD and 3:1 since the launch of the PS3). The launch of the PS3 was seen as a turning point for the Blu-ray Disc format across Europe, with weekly movie sales of Blu-ray Disc titles averaging between two- and five-times the amount of HD DVD sales week over week.*

The best selling Blu-ray titles year-to-date are 300 – the number one selling title in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Benelux and Sweden and Casino Royale - the number one selling title in UK and Ireland.

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 holds up to 25 gigabytes of data and a dual-layer Blu-ray Disc holds up to 50 gigabytes of data. This greater storage capacity enables the Blu-ray Disc to store over six 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, as well as next generation computer games.

Blu-ray Disc also features the most advanced copy protection, player backward compatibility with the current DVD format, connectivity and advanced interactivity. Showcasing picture quality with six times the resolution of DVD and theatre quality “uncompressed” audio for the purest digital sound, the cutting-edge discs also feature enhanced and integrated menus, games, High Definition bonus materials and Java-encoding for more dynamic and sophisticated interactivity.