Anchor Bay Joins Growing List of UMD Distributors

According to Home Media Retailing, Anchor Bay Entertainment will become the latest indie retailer to release titles for the UMD format:

Anchor Bay, known chiefly for its large library of horror films, will begin its rollout Aug. 23 with six titles on the Universal Media Disc (UMD) format: Halloween, Evil Dead, Time Bandits, Blood the Last Vampire, Ghost in the Shell and Ninja Scroll. Each title will be priced at $19.98.

Ray Gagnon, SVP of sales for Anchor Bay, says all six films appeal primarily to PSP’s target young-male demographic. He said Anchor Bay was prompted to take the plunge because there’s so much support among big retailers.

Based on their release slate, Anchor Bay's approach looks like it will initially focus on proven back catalog titles, as opposed to new releases.

Every major distributor besides Warner is now on board, with over 100 titles available by the holiday shopping season. PSPs will likely be a hot commodity this christmas, which may be what prompts the smaller retailers currently on the sidelines into the game (especially in the Anime arena).

[Via Home Media Retailing]