Andre Yoskowitz
27 Oct 2011 12:26
Blockbuster (now part of Dish Network), has been forced to buy new Warner releases on the open market, as the studio wants to expand its 28-day rental release window to the company.
Warner, and all the major studios, have had similar deals in place with rivals Netflix and Redbox for some time now.
With a 28-day delayed release window, rental companies get new releases 28 days after their physical release, giving studios one uninterrupted month for potential DVD/Blu-ray sales.
In response, Blockbuster has purchased new films like Horrible Bosses and The Green Lantern on the open market and made them available to subscribers.
Commented Warner (via THR):
They felt it was important to continue to offer day-and-date rental so rather than work with us they went around us.
The question is: how do we make ownership more valuable and attractive? We have started the process of creating a window in bricks-and-mortar DVD and Blu-ray rental.