Why wasn't Blockbuster prepared for online movie streaming?

[iamthewalrus_3]

@Asuka

It was either Hollywood video or Blockbuster who had a few select 99 cent rentals and they called it their “Classic Cinema Collection” where for a two day rental you could watch stuff like Gone With The Wind or The Sound of Music on VHS. Somebody must have been subsidizing them for that to happen, wouldn’t be surprised if some studio gave it to them in bulk in exchange for putting a bunch of ads before the video started

@Asuka

Mainly because it was specifically those well known classic movies and not others.

Sounds like market segmentation to me. You know who’s interested in watching classic movies? Older people, who are more price conscious. And it takes 100+ viewings of a VHS to wear it out, so even at $1 per rental, you’re making ok money if it’s rented regularly.

[Ludovic]

@iamthewalrus_3

You know who’s interested in watching classic movies?

Great, even movie questions can be Godwinized :smack:

[eastcheap]

@iamthewalrus_3

you know who’s interested in watching classic movies?

@ludovic

great, even movie questions can be godwinized :smack:

KIM JONG-IL!

Hmm. Doesn’t have quite the same ring to it somehow.

[Max_Torque]

For a little while, Blockbuster either teamed up with Dish Network, or Dish Network had purchased the remnants of their rent-by-mail business. If you were a Dish subscriber at a certain level, you could rent discs that arrived in the mail like Netflix.

I have the last one that I received, still in its envelope; I hadn’t opened it yet when I got an email saying, “The Blockbuster @home service is over. If you still have a movie, go ahead and keep it.” So it’s in my drawer, still unopened, the Last Blockbuster Movie. Maybe I can sell it on eBay someday.

[Shinna_Minna_Ma]

Two of the last three Blockbuster stores are closing.

[CookingWithGas]

@Shinna_Minna_Ma

Two of the last three Blockbuster stores are closing.

I just came home from Fairbanks yesterday. Too bad that store was not on the list of must-see tourist attractions.

[ftg]

So the Russell Crowe jockstrap didn’t save it? I am shocked, shocked I tell you.

Maybe that Koala Chlamydia clinic in Australia is now in danger of closing.

The last one is in Bend, OR??? I thought the only other one(s) were in Texas???

[Atamasama]

I remember I used to rent from Blockbuster. Just renting DVDs off the shelf. Then they offered the chance to rent them online and send them to me, and I could return the DVD at the local store. Typically I’d be renting from the physical store and mail service simultaneously.

Then came Netflix. I got the same ability to rent movies online, but it was cheaper and had a better selection. No more Blockbuster.

Then Netflix included streaming. I thought it was a weird gimmick and did it every now and then but just as a novelty. I was still mostly doing the disks. Over time I streamed more and more, especially when they released a streaming app for the Nintendo Wii (the gaming console I used at the time). Now I could conveniently stream from my TV. (I briefly set up a media center PC in my living room but it was a hassle.)

Then Netflix started to charge more, but gave the option to just stream at a cheaper rate than their disk service was. And so now I no longer rent disks. Also I have Hulu and Amazon (and Vudu if you count that).

It’s funny but my personal journey in home video watching seems to mirror how the entire industry evolved.