Page 1 of RCE - Warners vs Tesco?

This hadn`t occurred to me until I was reading a piece by Andy at the R2 project. Has anyone considered the possibility that the whole RCE situation is Warners giving Tescos the finger (or two fingers from a UK perspective)? Tescos` chief buyer sent the head of Warner Video a letter about dropping region coding earlier this year in the hope of being able to import disks direct from the US. Now call me cynical if you like, but I suspect until she did this, those sons of b... gentlemen at Warners were either turning a blind eye to R1 importing, or it wasn`t cutting into profit margins (especially UK operations profit margins). The thought that a major high street retailer could start importing R1 disks must have had them soiling their underwear. So, they can`t stop exports from the US or Canada (free trade and all that), and they can only use everybody`s friends at FAST here in the UK to get Customs running around exercising the Video Recordings Act 1984 to seize videos coming in. They have to think fast, and beefing up the region checking`s about the only thing they can do.

If we need a champion, I reckon it could be Tescos, if they have the guts to take Warners to the Supreme Court on the grounds of free trade restrictions.

Nice theory, mate and one I can definitely believe. After all, Tesco really are the champions of the little people - remember the Levi 501 fiasco ! Good luck to them, I really hope that they push McWarnkers as far as they can. I for one don`t mind a penny on a can of beans for the privilege of seeing those money grabbing SOBs eat humble pie. And another thing about Tesco - they got that lovely Prunella Scales back on the telly after all these years....BASIL!!!!!!!

This item was edited on Saturday, 21st October 2000, 16:50

Hmmmm.

Tescos support multi-region and complain to warnker about region coding.

Warnker release discs with RCE which targets the players that Tescos just happens to be selling A LOT of.

I wonder if Warner HQ has a nice little grassy knoll?


HITACHI 505 ROCKS!!!!!!!!!