Blockbuster Tells Netflix to Shove It

[Chris Gohlke]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://news.designtechnica.com/article10019.html' target='_blank'>http://news.designtechnica.com/article10019.html</a><br /><br /></div><i>""We believe this lawsuit is an attempt by Netflix to stifle competition and, as a result, reduce consumer choice," said Shane Evangelist, senior vice president and general manager for Blockbuster Online, in a statement. “The timing of this lawsuit appears to confirm that Blockbuster Online has emerged as a real competitive force in the online rental industry. Apparently Netflix would prefer to take us on in the courts rather than facing us in the marketplace where the consumer is the judge.""</i><br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/netbuster.jpg" /><br /><br />I'm not a big fan of these types of lawsuits. The idea of a queue for rentals seems fairly obvious to me in fact it is very similar to the idea of a waiting list for a popular book at the library. I think Blockbuster is right and Netflix will probably draw this out long enough to discourage others from entering the market. In the meantime, they probably hope that this will draw Blockbuster's focus away from what it really needs to be doing - leveraging their stores to give them an advantage over Netflix.

[Phoenix]

IMO, Blockbuster is the one who can "shove it".

I got fed up with that company. Stupid rental times and return policies, late fees, confusing rental agreements, and an online rental service that is lucky to have any movie in stock and delivered to your door inside of a month.

I ceased renting from them altogether, and after trying their online service, just went back to Netflix.

Also, if I do rent something on the spur of the moment, I only rent from Hollywood Video.

[Chris Gohlke]

I like blockbusters on-line service. I average around 13 movies a month. What gives them the advantage is the 4 free instore rentals a month. I have a blockbuster within a quarter mile of my house, so this is really convenient. I use the instores for new releases and keep the other stuff in my queue. Of the 160 movies in my queue, only 12 are not available now.

Now, if you want to talk in-store, I agree, I would never pay to rent anything from them, but the freebies are great.

[Phoenix]

Sounds like Blockbuster is doing better with their online service, then. When we had it, they were horrible in terms of availability.

And I forgot about the free rentals... that's at least one positive thing, but for us it wasn't enough to cause us to grin and bear it through what must have been growing pains with their online rentals.

Ultimately, I just want Nexflix's entire catalog (and soon to be HD offerings) to be available on-demand and say goodbye to DVD's altogether! (Except for when I buy, that is).