Two big customers are pushing back against a Warner Bros.-led effort by studios to delay the availability of DVD rentals by eight weeks, reports Bloomberg.
Those customers are Blockbuster, owned by Dish Network, and Redbox, owned by Coinstar, the story says. The current delay for Redbox is 28 days after a DVD goes on sale to the public, the piece notes.
Warner’s Time Warner Inc. film unit is shifting to a 56-day delay before DVDs are available for rentals, in the hope it will convince customers to buy rather than rent. As reported back in October, the top film studios are examining their rental policies as they search for ways to reverse declines in DVD sales and online purchases.
Netflix agreed this week to go along with the delay, but Blockbuster stores are reportedly buying the movies from other outlets the day they go on sale and turning around to rent them immediately, the story says.
"Netflix doesn’t really care about a move from 28 days to 56" because it’s not focused on new releases, said Eric Wold, an analyst at B. Riley & Co. But for other rental companies, he said, "that kind of delay would really hurt them.”
All it really means for Warner is that the guys on the interenet that are dealing off the grid, will make more money, and neither Warner or the Rental Companies will see any cut. All of these companies have to get smart before it is too late. You don’t want to be another Kodak – failing to see the future.