Two Viacom executives have confirmed that Paramount received a massive pay off of $150 million in order to drop the Blu-ray format and exclusively support HD-DVD for a period of 18 months. However, the deal does not include films which have been directed by Steven Spielberg.

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The NY Times has confirmed via two Viacom executives, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, that Paramount has received a $150M pay-off to support HD DVD exclusively for a period of 18 months. The $150M is comprised of cash and future marketing deals. Also re-confirmed is that the deal includes no films directed by Steven Spielberg.