Bentonville, Ark. - Following similar recent announcements from Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) and Netflix (NASD: NFLX), retail giant Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) announced on Friday that it will drop its HD DVD offerings in favor of Sony's (NYSE: SNE) Blu-ray next-generation DVD format. Meanwhile, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Toshiba "is expected to pull the plug on its HD DVD format in the coming weeks." THR noted, however, that Toshiba says no official decision has been made.

"Given the market developments in the past month, Toshiba will continue to study the market impact and the value proposition for consumers, particularly in light of our recent price reductions on all HD DVD players," Jodi Sally, VP of marketing for Toshiba America Consumer Products, told THR.

Toshiba had hoped that slashing the prices on its HD DVD players last month would help bolster sales, but subsequent sales data from NPD showed that Blu-ray maintained its wide sales lead despite the move.

Wal-Mart's defection to Blu-ray followed that of both retailers and studios alike.

Along with Best Buy and Netflix, Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) decided last summer to exclusively support Blu-ray.

Major movie studio Warner Bros. (NYSE: TWX), which had been supporting both Blu-ray and HD DVD, said in January that it would release titles only on Blu-ray.

"We've listened to our customers, who are showing a clear preference toward Blu-ray products and movies with their purchases," said Gary Severson, SVP of home entertainment for Wal-Mart U.S.

By June, the company said, it will be carrying only Blu-ray movies and hardware.

Related Links:
http://www.walmartfacts.com/articles/5673.aspx

http://tinyurl.com/2wn5fe (Hollywood Reporter)