THE GREAT DIVIDE: Vivendi-Universal and NBC-Universal

As a result of G.E./NBC's acquisition of most of Vivendi-Universal's entertainment assets, with the exception of the Universal Music Group, two media companies bearing the name Universal following the hyphen were created. And, as if to demonstrate the permanence of the split, Vivendi Universal's music company announced Tuesday that it will back Sony's Blu-ray DVD format over Toshiba's HD DVD format, which is backed by NBC-Universal. Meanwhile, Toronto-based Lions Gate was expected to announce today (Wednesday) that it will also back the Blu-ray technology. Sony's two new allies now give it an edge in its format war with Toshiba.