As customers and stockholders alike pile on Netflix following their questionable moves over the last few months, another threat looms large on the horizon: The newly invigorated Blockbuster Video, flush with cash from its Dish Network purchase and ready to announce something significant on Friday.
AllThingsD is reporting that Dish Network will be holding a press conference Friday at 1pm EST, with the leading speculation focused on the introduction of a new streaming video service as part of the satellite provider’s acquisition of Blockbuster Video. Need more evidence, you say?
“The company’s invitations for today’s event (you can watch a livestream here) tease that Dish and Blockbuster will be offering a ‘stream come true,’” writes Peter Kafka, which doesn’t leave much to the imagination.
Honestly, what other reason could Dish have for slapping $320 million down on the table to save the once-mighty Blockbuster from bankruptcy this past April? Streaming is where it’s at, and the company has already gone on the record with its intentions at least once before.
The real question is how this will affect the embattled Netflix, which in recent days has lost a huge chunk of its stock market value on the heels of some unpopular moves, including charging separately for its streaming and DVD by mail services and then haphazardly deciding to spin off the DVD business entirely into something called “Quickster.”
AllThingsD notes that it’s an uphill battle to match Netflix on selection. Despite constant griping from customers about the limited streaming selection, Netflix currently offers roughly 20,000 titles -- while its nearest competitor, Amazon Instant Video, has a “mere 9,000.” Could Dish step into the fray with such a large catalog right out of the gate? It seems unlikely.
The curveball for Netflix could come in the form of a former ally, Starz, who recently walked away from renewal negotiations with the company and is likely shopping its wares around town in search of a better deal. Should that come from Dish/Blockbuster, it could be yet another hiccup in the stream for Netflix -- so to speak.
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Connan
October 06, 2011 at 10:33am
As a DISH Network employee I would like to add a bit more insight to Blockbuster's and DISH Network promotion. The Blockbuster movie pass allows users to stream 3,000 movies to their TV and 4,000 to their PC plus a one disc rental at a time. The disc rentals include games, blu-rays, and DVD's and blu-rays are at no additional charge and they offer 3,000 of the latest games on PS3, XBOX 360, and Wii. New customers can get 12 months free streaming and 3 months free discs by mail.
VitaminCM
September 23, 2011 at 9:22am
Every company on the block has lined up to steal away Netflix's revenue in recent years and they all have failed miserably.
Blockbuster, Walmart, Amazon, Redbox, Hulu, etc.
Their customer base, revenue, and stock price continues to climb as each new "Killer" competitor jumps into the sector. Even with the recent drop-off, their stock is still up 450% over the last five years. Yes, that's slightly better than Apple, who was also supposed to steal all of their business away.
Some day, someone will knock them off, so I guess if "experts" keep predicting it, one of them will eventually be right. Then again, my broken clock is right twice a day; for what it's worth.
