COMPANY TOWN ANNEX

Sony Suggests New Flexibility on CD Video Format: Sony Corp.’s incoming president, Nobuyuki Idei, said it is still possible that the company and its rivals will agree on a format for a new type of compact disc that can store feature-length movies. “There are many ways for a solution. We’re talking about business--we’re not fighting just to fight,” said Idei, who takes his new post April 1. Idei’s comments suggest a new flexibility at Sony, after a long period of jousting with a rival alliance led by Toshiba Corp. over whose format will become the industry standard. Separately, Idei said Sony will not sell its entire stake in money-losing Columbia Pictures Entertainment, which it acquired in 1989. But he did not rule out the possibility that Sony will sell a share in the studio.