Disney's Iger says easy money behind HD DVD stance

By Sue Zeidler

LOS ANGELES, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger said on Tuesday he was disappointed by some studios' recent decision to back the HD DVD high-definition technology format and accused them of taking "easy money" for their decision.

Iger did not name the studios to which he was referring.

Disney backs Sony Corp's (6758.T) Blu-Ray Disc, which had appeared to be pulling ahead of Toshiba Corp's (6502.T) HD DVD in the format war before Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc DWA.N signed exclusivity deals in August to distribute next-generation films on HD DVD for the next 18 months.

"We believe it's a no-brainer ... that the industry should be behind Blu-ray," Iger told investors at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia Conference, noting that a decision by certain "entities" was disappointing.

"I think those studios were likely taking easy money. We haven't taken any money because we believe it," he said.

Viacom's (VIAb.N) Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation were not available for comment.

Shortly after the two studios announced their decision to back HD DVD, the New York Times reported that Viacom executives with knowledge of the deals said both Paramount and DreamWorks would receive about $150 million in financial incentives for their commitment to HD DVD.

The standards war is reminiscent of the battle 30 years ago between the VHS and Betamax formats for home video recording. At stake is what is expected to be a multi-billion dollar industry.

Disney has sent a traveling road show to the top eight U.S. shopping malls to promote Blu-Ray players to those looking to upgrade.

DreamWorks Chief Executive Jeffrey Katzenberg said at another conference earlier on Tuesday that price was a key factor in the studio's decision to back HD DVD. HD DVD players and discs are cheaper than Blu-Ray.

"We believe that Toshiba and HD DVD has finally provided an affordable option," he said at the Merrill Lynch Media and Entertainment Conference.

Viacom also defended its decision to back HD-DVD on Tuesday.

"We felt that HD DVDs had lower price hardware, which in our view is important for consumer acceptance," Viacom Chief Executive Philippe Dauman told the Goldman conference ahead of Iger's comments.

"We like the technical quality of it. So, we felt it was important for us to commit to a platform," he said.

Earlier this month, Yoshihide Fujii, chief executive of Toshiba's Digital Network Co, told Consumer Electronics Daily at an industry conference in Berlin that reports that Toshiba paid the studios $150 million for their support were "totally wrong."

He did say, however, that Toshiba promised Paramount and DreamWorks Animation "some money" to cover costs "to jointly promote" their titles in a deal for the studios to support HD DVD and not Blu-ray.