Incident 2day
Dish Network unveiled today the "Blockbuster Movie Pass," a bundle of services that includes streaming video; DVDs; Blu-Rays and games by mail; and access to premium movie channels. The catch: you need to be a Dish Network customer.
The service will launch October 1. Existing Dish subscribers can sign up for the package for an additional $10 a month. New customers who sign up for Dish's America's Top 200 package for $39.99 a month get access to the service for a year.
"More Americans are demanding an easier way to view their video," said Dish CEO Joe Clayton. "There is an easier way to have it."
The service could potentially breathe new life into Blockbuster, as well as drive subscriber growth for parent Dish. Dish subscribers, meanwhile, could be convinced to switch away from rival streaming service Netflix.
The timing couldn't be better, with Netflix dealing with the fallout from a price increase in its DVD-and-streaming plan and now scrambling to explain why it is splitting its DVD and streaming services into separate businesses. Over the past few months, the company has taken a beating from both consumers and investors. The backlash resulted in Chief Executive Reed Hastings issuing an apology.
Blockbuster has made steady progress since sliding into bankruptcy a year ago. The company, which still relies on brick-and-mortar stores to rent out its DVDs, was saddled with too many physical locations when the industry was moving to DVD-by-mail and streaming service. Sure, it offers DVDs by mail and a limited streaming service, but the customer base pales in comparison to that of Netflix. Satellite-TV provider Dish Network scooped up the company for $228 million, considered to be a bit of a head-scratching move at the time by Dish founder Charles Ergen.
Dish, however, was quick to revitalize Blockbuster, expressing confidence in the business and insisting that it would keep 1,500 of its stores running. Dish could also use the physical locations as another outlet to sell its core satellite-TV service. After Netflix raised its prices in July, Dish sent notices to media outlets "reminding" them about Blockbuster's low prices and digital download service.
"More Americans are demanding an easier way to view their video," said Dish CEO Joe Clayton. "There is an easier way to have it."
The service could potentially breathe new life into Blockbuster, as well as drive subscriber growth for parent Dish. Dish subscribers, meanwhile, could be convinced to switch away from rival streaming service Netflix.
The timing couldn't be better, with Netflix dealing with the fallout from a price increase in its DVD-and-streaming plan and now scrambling to explain why it is splitting its DVD and streaming services into separate businesses. Over the past few months, the company has taken a beating from both consumers and investors. The backlash resulted in Chief Executive Reed Hastings issuing an apology.
Blockbuster has made steady progress since sliding into bankruptcy a year ago. The company, which still relies on brick-and-mortar stores to rent out its DVDs, was saddled with too many physical locations when the industry was moving to DVD-by-mail and streaming service. Sure, it offers DVDs by mail and a limited streaming service, but the customer base pales in comparison to that of Netflix. Satellite-TV provider Dish Network scooped up the company for $228 million, considered to be a bit of a head-scratching move at the time by Dish founder Charles Ergen.
Dish, however, was quick to revitalize Blockbuster, expressing confidence in the business and insisting that it would keep 1,500 of its stores running. Dish could also use the physical locations as another outlet to sell its core satellite-TV service. After Netflix raised its prices in July, Dish sent notices to media outlets "reminding" them about Blockbuster's low prices and digital download service.
Posted in: Technology
Email This
BlogThis!
Share to X
Share to Facebook
1 comments:
Nice read! I know if I didn't already cancel Netflix sometime ago I would definitely be doing so now with this recent news of the Blockbuster Movie Pass coming out Saturday. I do already subscribe and work with DISH Network so I am definitely excited to try it out and build my Blockbuster by mail queue! Plus it comes at such a great price for all those services and I don't have to worry about paying extra for Blu-rays or games unlike Netflix and I'll be getting new release movies weeks before Netflix even thinks about getting them. Check out all the info at dish.com! :)
Post a Comment