Blockbuster Partners Sony, Adds CinemaNow Titles to Provide Video Downloads
Blockbuster wants to offer make available its video library through a variety of home and portable devices
Blockbuster’s strategy has become more dedicated to movie downloads, it seems. Probably the most important factor in its new approach is the fierce competition Netflix puts out.
On November 27 we reported that the movie rental giant decided to enter the set-top box market with the MediaPoint digital media player, giving users the possibility to buy OnDemand movies on a pay-per-view basis. Things, however, haven’t been peachy in this direction for the company – not much enthusiasm for set top offering from the public. The PC-based download service available on blockbuster.com wasn’t exactly a success either.
But such a company will only get even more ambitious. Blockbuster has teamed up with Sonic Solutions to offer more than 10,000 movies for rent and sale for a wide range of devices from PCs, mobile phones, portable media players, Internet-connected televisions to Blu-ray disc players. The new collection that will be available combines titles both from Blockbuster and CinemaNow, a movie download service on a rapid growth, recently turned Blockbuster-branded (since Sonic acquired it).
Jim Keyes, Blockbuster's CEO, said in a statement highlighted the new direction the company has taken: "Blockbuster is a ubiquitous entertainment presence in the physical world. Through this alliance with Sonic, we plan to become a ubiquitous presence in the digital world as well. Our goal is to offer consumers the most digital content, the most accessibility, via the most devices, both in and out of home."
Keyes also said that the company is at this time considering subscription options but no final decision has been made yet. The rival Netflix already provides a free Web-streaming service to customers who pay an $8.99 fee per month.
