4 ms·

Blockbuster did put lots of money into developing streaming technology and absolutely saw it as the future. But they were too early and gained no traction. By t

Blockbuster did put lots of money into developing streaming technology and absolutely saw it as the future. But they were too early and gained no traction. By the time the moment arrived they no longer had the money and energy. But overal I agree Netflix wouldn't have been Netflix if it had sold out early.

basch 7y ago
Also, the main other party in the 2000ish Blockbuster streaming service was Enron. So it probably would have collapsed or fallen into troubled times and been acquired, no matter what.
- technofiend 7y ago
  Enron was also trying to create bandwidth commodities that traded the same as energy, which was typical of Enron. Create a market, make use of the market and double dip on profits. https://www.wired.com/2001/11/enron-a-bandwidth-bloodbath/ https://www.wired.com/2001/11/enron-a-bandwidth-bloodbath/
agumonkey 7y ago
I'd love a list of all the too-earlys ..
- gandalfian 7y ago
  I can only remember the conman who claimed he could do broadband over dialup. https://web.archive.org/web/20170320224412/http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/050502/met_9322821.html https://web.archive.org/web/20170320224412/http://jacksonvil... but statistically they must have thrown money at someone who wasn't a crook, mustn't they?
- new_realist 7y ago
  Six Degrees: Facebook met LinkedIn in 1997.
  - agumonkey 7y ago
    oh yeah .. indeed too early
- INTPenis 7y ago
  My favorite is Microsoft Terra which was designed mostly to show off their SQL database. THey had no idea about the power of personal data that Google would exploit much later with Google Earth.
  - agumonkey 7y ago
    Ah well, very similarly DEC made altavista to show off so never thought of it as a product. Then Google came.
    - INTPenis 7y ago
      Really? I had no idea Altavista was from DEC. In school in sweden we actually had a computer class where they taught us to use altavista. This was before Google blew up.
      - agumonkey 7y ago
        altavista history is "fun" https://digital.com/about/altavista/ https://digital.com/about/altavista/
- drpgq 7y ago
  Friendster?
kjksf 7y ago
> But they were too early and gained no traction As I understand the history of Blockbuster, the CEO was actually winning against Netflix. It was obviously costly fight (needed lots of investment). The Blockbuster CEO met his performance goal and was expecting hefty bonus but Carl Icahn, a board member and big Blockbuster shareholder, torpedoed the bonus award. CEO quit. The next CEO reduced spending in dvd-by-mail and online streaming and Netflix won. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110318006089/en/Happened-Blockbuster-Story-John-Antioco-Carl-Icahn https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110318006089/en/Hap... So you could say that Blockbuster lost because Carl Icahn is an idiot and single-handedly destroyed Blockbuster. There's no indication that they lost because they were "too early". In fact, their online product was "pay-per-view" while Netflix was "all-you-can-eat" https://www.cnet.com/news/netflix-vs-blockbuster-whats-the-best-service-for-streaming-and-dvds/ https://www.cnet.com/news/netflix-vs-blockbuster-whats-the-b...
- zaphirplane 7y ago
  Too early can be, when bandwidth was slow and download cap were small. Downloading was discouraging

basch 7y ago

Also, the main other party in the 2000ish Blockbuster streaming service was Enron. So it probably would have collapsed or fallen into troubled times and been acquired, no matter what.

technofiend 7y ago
Enron was also trying to create bandwidth commodities that traded the same as energy, which was typical of Enron. Create a market, make use of the market and double dip on profits. https://www.wired.com/2001/11/enron-a-bandwidth-bloodbath/ https://www.wired.com/2001/11/enron-a-bandwidth-bloodbath/

agumonkey 7y ago

I'd love a list of all the too-earlys ..

gandalfian 7y ago
I can only remember the conman who claimed he could do broadband over dialup. https://web.archive.org/web/20170320224412/http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/050502/met_9322821.html https://web.archive.org/web/20170320224412/http://jacksonvil... but statistically they must have thrown money at someone who wasn't a crook, mustn't they?
new_realist 7y ago
Six Degrees: Facebook met LinkedIn in 1997.
- agumonkey 7y ago
  oh yeah .. indeed too early
INTPenis 7y ago
My favorite is Microsoft Terra which was designed mostly to show off their SQL database. THey had no idea about the power of personal data that Google would exploit much later with Google Earth.
- agumonkey 7y ago
  Ah well, very similarly DEC made altavista to show off so never thought of it as a product. Then Google came.
  - INTPenis 7y ago
    Really? I had no idea Altavista was from DEC. In school in sweden we actually had a computer class where they taught us to use altavista. This was before Google blew up.
    - agumonkey 7y ago
      altavista history is "fun" https://digital.com/about/altavista/ https://digital.com/about/altavista/
drpgq 7y ago
Friendster?

kjksf 7y ago

> But they were too early and gained no traction As I understand the history of Blockbuster, the CEO was actually winning against Netflix. It was obviously costly fight (needed lots of investment). The Blockbuster CEO met his performance goal and was expecting hefty bonus but Carl Icahn, a board member and big Blockbuster shareholder, torpedoed the bonus award. CEO quit. The next CEO reduced spending in dvd-by-mail and online streaming and Netflix won. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110318006089/en/Happened-Blockbuster-Story-John-Antioco-Carl-Icahn https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20110318006089/en/Hap... So you could say that Blockbuster lost because Carl Icahn is an idiot and single-handedly destroyed Blockbuster. There's no indication that they lost because they were "too early". In fact, their online product was "pay-per-view" while Netflix was "all-you-can-eat" https://www.cnet.com/news/netflix-vs-blockbuster-whats-the-best-service-for-streaming-and-dvds/ https://www.cnet.com/news/netflix-vs-blockbuster-whats-the-b...

zaphirplane 7y ago
Too early can be, when bandwidth was slow and download cap were small. Downloading was discouraging