Andre Yoskowitz
23 Mar 2010 13:51
Blockbuster has announced this morning that it has reached a deal with Warner Bros. to have new Warner releases available for rental day-and-day with release date, and a full 28 days before rivals Redbox and Netflix get them.
The financials of the deal were not released but it is clear that the deal is only for brick-and-mortar stores and online rental and not for Blockbuster's thousands of kiosks.
Blockbuster has almost $900 million in debt, and analysts have given an "ongoing concern" notification for the company, implying bankruptcy may be on the horizon.
The first movie available because of the deal is "The Blind Side," available today for rent.
"The studios appreciate that we are the only business that has the ability to offer cross channels," says CEO James Keyes, via BW. "That enables us to give consumers access to movies when they want it and where they want it."