It’s pretty obvious how watching movies at home is going to work in the near future: by downloading through various online outlets onto the cable box or home computer hard drive. Yes, the DVD as a viable money-making entity is doomed. Sales have dropped substantially already, I think…?
Anyway, to that end, Blockbuster (remember the 90s?!?) recently acquired Movielink, the struggling online digital-download service, giving Blockbuster a jumpstart online and making them more competitive with my beloved Netflix’s nebulous and slow-to-start online initiatives. Netflix, curiously enough, appears to be slowly bleeding customers, while Blockbuster’s Total Access service keeps growing.
Blockbuster considers Movielink “a first step” toward making movie downloads available to computers, televisions and even portable devices such as cell phones, Keyes said.
Blockbuster’s Total Access service, which allows customers to select DVD rentals online and receive them through the mail, has about 3.6 million subscribers. Netflix has 6.7 million subscribers.
Blockbuster added 600,000 subscribers in the second quarter, while Netflix lost 55,000 — its first quarterly decline since the service began in 1999.
Netflix spokesman Steve Swasey said the company lets customers download about 4,000 movie and TV titles directly to a personal computer, and that customers have used the service 5 million times.
