3 ms·
Back in the 90s Blockbusters was considered a disruptive tech company, pioneering the then-novel VHS-on-demand model to disrupt the status quo of cinemas and br
by jbay808 5y ago
Back in the 90s Blockbusters was considered a disruptive tech company, pioneering the then-novel VHS-on-demand model to disrupt the status quo of cinemas and broadcasters, making its market cap worthy of sky-high earnings multiples.
... Or maybe it wasn't, and Netflix shouldn't have been either. They're fundamentally solving the same problem and delivering essentially the same value, and Blockbusters had the advantage that first-sale doctrine meant they didn't have to strike expensive licensing agreements with studios in order to serve their content.
If Netflix can combine their streaming service with their DVD catalogue, and side-step licensing restrictions by streaming data from a physical DVD in their collection to paying customers, maybe they can win back that attention. But I assume that such an application has already been challenged in court.
- blihp 5y agoThere was nothing novel about Blockbuster other than scale. VHS-on-demand started in the 70's (but didn't really get rolling until the 80's) with mom-and-pop video rental stores (which Blockbuster itself started as in 1985) which grew into small local/regional chains. Blockbuster became a roll-up of the smaller chains and most successful mom-and-pops and specialized in raising prices and maximizing revenue via late fees.
- derekp7 5y ago>by streaming data from a physical DVD in their collection Someone tried that a few years ago, using the position that they were renting out a DVD player and a very long cable. Courts didn't accept that argument and they got shut down.