I couldn't believe this story in today's Dallas Morning News:
Blockbuster Executive Emphasizes Brick-And-Mortar StoresIt's analogous to the following headlines: "Blockbuster: Betamax Key To Our Success", "AOL: Dial-Up Internet Is The Future", "GM Bets On Horse and Buggy" or "Coal: The Fuel of Tomorrow" (oops, that one is really out there).
Blockbuster Inc. CEO Jim Keyes told shareholders Thursday that "there is life in the stores," and brick-and-mortar locations remain key to the company's growing multichannel pitch to customers.
Right now, not only do I get unlimited Netflix movies in the mail for $15 a month (three rentals from Blockbuster), but through Fios on-demand I can watch new releases through my remote. And digital delivery is only going to grow in availability.
If I were a shareholder at that meeting, I would have bolted for the door and called my broker on the spot. Sell! Sell!
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I like the stores. I drop off my DVDs from the mail plan, pick up DVDs from the store gratis.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the growing availability of VoD because of the advent from digital distribution. However, internet speeds in this country remain painfully slow compared to Korea. Plus, Americans do not like change. This trend will progress slowly than quickly. Much like Twitter and Facebook.
One day, only you used it. The next day, everyone used it.
For now, there are some advantages to the store model. But VoD is getting more mainstream. With Netflix, you can view movies on demand from their library with an XBox 360 or their box. The selection is still a bit limited, but it's growing.
ReplyDeleteAnd Verizon Fios has a pretty good selection of on-demand movies -- pretty much any new release.
The one snag is that in many areas, the cable companies have a lock on broadband, and they aren't thrilled about having their competitors eat up their bandwidth. Their metered bandwidth model would admittedly be a barrier to VoD. Eventually, though, it's gonna happen. It may be sooner than you expect.