Blockbuster No Longer Has New Releases 28 Days Before Redbox And Netflix
By Germain Lussier/Dec. 17, 2010 3:00 pm EST
According to Fast Company, the reason for the switch is “lower acquisition costs.” Meaning, if you get a movie when it’s not new anymore, it’s going to be cheaper. This is a strategy Netflix actually embraced to help cut costs. They went to the studios to seek it out. And because Blockbuster was making such a big deal of their exclusive 28 day window, the studios knew they weren’t in much of a position to negotiate. So when prices got too high, they bailed.
The aforementioned ad campaign will now, in all likelihood, be pulled. That’s a cool $20 million down the drain. So what you’re about to watch is about to become extinct.
The way most people view movies today, if you don’t see it in the theater, the 28 day window really isn’t that big a deal. For the extra few dollars, if someone really wants to see a movie that was just released on DVD, they’ll buy it. Otherwise you’ll simply wait a month. You already waited since it was out of theaters, what’s another 28 days besides the title of a Sandra Bullock movie?
If you still rent movies at all, how do you do it? The Blockbuster store, Netflix, Redbox or some combination of the three? And was anyone really impressed by this 28 day window?
