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Blockbuster hopes to make a success of Movielink

26 October 2007 9:35 by Rich "vurbal" Fiscus | 3 comments

Since the purchase of video download site Movielink to video rental giant Blockbuster was announced earlier this year there has been a lot of speculation as to the financial state of the service. Despite heavy Hollywood ties with ownerr that included most of the major movie studios, the service was never able to make a serious impact with consumers, or a profit for that matter.

Despite the service's less than stellar history, Blockbuster has big plans for it. Originally purchased as part of their bid to compete with online video rental leader Netflix, the company has indicated that the Movielink platform will be used for content delivery to a number of platforms from mobile phones to televisions.

However, according to independent auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers, Movielink's track record raises "substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern." However, Blockbuster may be looking less toward profitabliity and more toward competition. In recent months Blockbuster has had to change the terms of their Total Access online DVD rental plans, which had made them the first company to actually make an impact on Netflix subscriber numbers. Unfortunately it came at a high price, and the company's purchase of Movielink is anticipated to eventually tie into their rental operations. No announcements have been made regarding possible tie-ins between Total Access and Movielink, but if things go well Blockbuster's marketing could substantially increase Movielink's public visibility, while Movielink might provide serious competition for the Watch Instantly feature available from rival Netflix.

Source: Ars Technica

Permalink to this article

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Blockbuster wants Movielink to go mobile (28 November 2007)

Blockbuster to challenge Redbox in kiosk market (28 November 2007)

Blockbuster reports show Movielink as failed business (28 October 2007)

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Blockbuster is saving money but losing subscribers (4 October 2007)

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Netflix streaming service gaining popularity (4 September 2007)

Netflix promises more movies for its streaming service (12 August 2007)

Blockbuster gets new ammo in Netflix battle (9 August 2007)

Netflix customer base erodes in second quarter (24 July 2007)

Netflix lowers price to fend off competition (28 June 2007)

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Discuss this article!
pryme_H (Senior Member) 27 October 2007 14:00
It's "plain as the nose your face" that Blockbuster's financial status is a little rocky. The unexpected emergence of rival Netflix has dramatically put a strain on their business. [ + quote]
lumberbee (Newbie) 27 October 2007 14:31
I think your right pryme H, you'll see that Spunway will blow these guys out of the water, the is no way that they could compete and have any thing close to what Spunway has. Movielinx and Total access , according to independent auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers, Movielink's track record raises "substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern." The serious impact with comsumers will be from Spunway. A dircet downloadable movie for a buck. That will make waves! mic [ + quote]
borhan9 (AfterDawn Addict) 1 November 2007 2:51
Well its all in the nature of competition other organisations come and improve on the product that you are selling etc... [ + quote]