http://www.afterdawn.com/news/archive/10678.cfm
Blockbuster gets new ammo in Netflix battle
9 August 2007 9:11 by vurbal
The video rental chain Blockbuster said yesterday that it had acquired the Internet movie provider Movielink to offer video downloading services to customers.
Blockbuster is also acquiring rights to show the films of Movielink’s owners, which include Warner Brothers Studios, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Paramount Pictures, it said. Financial terms were not disclosed.
“It immediately puts us in the digital download business,” Blockbuster’s chief executive, James W. Keyes, said. “Clearly, our customers have responded favorably to having other convenient ways to access movies and entertainment.”
Blockbuster said this year that it might seek a partner in 2007 to start a video downloading service. Last year, the company introduced an online movie subscription plan to lure customers away from Netflix, the largest Internet movie rental company.
The two companies offer similar plans and have repeatedly lowered prices or modified services in an effort to win customers.
Unlike Blockbuster, Netflix has added Streaming video to their subscription plans. Netflix customers can stream a predetermined amount of video that increases with higher priced subscription plans.
Movielink doesn't currently offere streaming services. However, standard downloads are a better deal for customers with slower internet connections, as it gives everyone access to video with the same quality.
In order to stream movies from Netflix at full DVD Resolution requires an internet connection capable of sustaining 3Mbps downloads. Even broadband plans that advertise speeds that meet or exceed this requirement don't guarantee speeds in this range and frequently don't support maintaining them for extended periods.
Source: New York Times