U.k. Chain Busts Whv Boycott

Choices, the U.K. video rental chain owned by Home Entertainment Corp. Plc., on Wednesday became the first major retailer to end the unofficial boycott of Warner Home Video U.K. product.

HEC said it has reached an agreement with WHV for the distribution of its titles and those of its distributed label Icon Home Entertainment via its 193 Choices stores plus its Video Box Office racking operations and Choices Direct mail-order service.

The boycott, in protest of WHV's controversial new trading policy, which does away with the rental-to-sell-through window and introduces a two-tier pricing structure for DVD and VHS releases, has been joined by all the major chains, including Blockbuster, Apollo, Global, Primetime and buying group Moviezone.

One of Warner's other distributed labels, Helkon SK, has decided to set up its own rental distribution operation rather than suffer dealer ire.

A Blockbuster spokeswoman Wednesday reaffirmed the chain's commitment to the ban.

HEC chairman Iain Muspratt, who has publicly stated his support for the maintenance of the rental video window, said he was "glad to have resolved this situation in what we regard to be an equitable way."

He said that he had experienced "an enormous amount of consumer dissatisfaction" at the decision not to stock "Training Day."

Muspratt would not reveal details of the deal and declined comment on whether Choices will be paying the premium on rental product. He did, however, say that "it is up to a distributor to determine whether or not something has a window or not, and there are plenty of examples from the past of straight-to-retail titles. It is our job to provide a service to our customers.

Warner said that by scrapping the window, it can maximize the marketing spending to benefit rental and sell-through.