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Blockbuster Trying To Woo Disgruntled Netflix Customers
jfruhlinger writes "'Netflix Customers, Say Hello to Blockbuster' is the subject line of an email making the rounds trying to convince customers to switch services in the wake of Netflix's contentious price hike. The bankrupt video store chain is now owned by DirectTV and has its own streaming service. How did Blockbuster even get these email addresses? Are its services really going to be cheaper and/or better than Netflix's in the long run? Is 'You'll hate us less than Netflix' really a viable business model?"
Relatedly, reader assertation asks, "Can anyone suggest a streaming movie service that has a selection comparable to Netflix and will run on a computer using GNU/Linux?"
Can anyone suggest a streaming movie service that has a selection comparable to Netfix and will run on a computer using GNU/Linux?
No. There isn't one because Linux market share on desktop is so incredibly small that no one wants to put up with the cost of supporting those few users. Most normal people run either Windows, set-top box or some console like PS3. Even if someone were to make such service they would immediately get huge backslash for the need of DRM (demanded by copyright owners). Yes, continue to use Linux, I do too. But if you are not willing to come even a little bit forward (like, accepting DRM or closed binaries) don't cry about it when companies don't want to support it.
disgruntled chrysler drivers are being chased by a zombie car salesman offering yugos and fiats.
Good people go to bed earlier.
Dish Network picked up Blockbuster. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/06/us-blockbuster-dishnetwork-idUSTRE7351VA20110406 Also note the "Subsidiary of Dish Network" part here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blockbuster_Inc.
As an alternative, in some ways even better than Netflix, Blockbusters is a viable choice for DVDs by mail, particularly if you have a store that is (still) close to you (despite the massive store closures). But as a streaming service, no... BB streaming is still only a competitor to PayPerView, which is pretty much what BB's streaming service is... BB DOES NOT do streaming subscriptions, which is what Netflix is and really has no competition. With Netflix you give up new releases for a subscription that gives you unlimited viewing of admittedly older content that also doesn't match DVDs in breadth, but the price is right-ish. With BB, you get new releases for streaming at the high (to consumers, not to studios) prices. BB *will* have to change to compete... but its really all in the hands of the studios...
I'm too happy paying $16 for Netflix/Roku, as opposed to $50 for cable.
Considering he clearly does not know about Amazon Prime video I guess so. Works fine on linux, and just added several thousand more videos. If they keep that up I will be canceling netflix eventually.
I'm mentioning this because a lot of people forget that many public libraries have excellent video collections. It won't always be the latest and sometimes you'll have to wait for a popular movie, but most libraries also seem to share the same philosophy that GNU/Linux users share: the are advocates of freedom.
couldn't you VMware/virtualbox windows for that purpose?
Yes, at a cost of $200 per device for the Windows license.
By "just added several thousand more videos", they actually mean "added about 2,000 episodes from fewer than 20 television shows, most of which Netflix also has".
Amazon Prime is nice, but it's basically a subset of Netflix.
I dropped Blockbuster and subscribed to Netflix last month, and in many ways, I'm regretting it. Netflix is good for streaming some TV shows (as long as you are OK with watching last year's episodes) and a few movies, but it is waaaaay behind in streaming worth-while New Film Releases, and their user interface is horrible. When you go to New Releases, it shows you anything new to THEM, not new to the market. Unless someone can tell me where it exists on NetFlix's site, one cannot just look for "movies released in the last week or last month or last year". It just shows everything that NetFlix added to its list. Makes it incredibly frustrating having to go to someone else's site to find movies that were released, then go back and search Netflix to find out that they don't even have it. And if you want the new releases, you can only get them in the mail, in which case, how is that better than Blockbuster? Some people probably like just browsing through B-movies, speghetti westerns, and 50s-80s flicks, but I watch a lot of movies and seeing the latest straight-to-DVD Val Kilmer movie isn't my idea of a Friday night. Blockbuster missed the boat when it came to streaming and NOT having a subscription streaming service left them sinking in their dingy. I have no interest paying per-movie. If Blockbuster offered subscription streaming, I'd probably dump Netflix, because they don't have the selection or the interface.
Since when is a marketing tactic the same as a business model?
When you see the ad.
I would use Blockbuster if they accepted payment in Bitcoin.
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I considered Blockbuster and went to check their prices. When I reached their site, they had a big block teasing Netflix and inviting me to join. I spent 20 minutes trying to find how much it would cost to use Blockbuster. I couldn't do it.
So while I hope Blockbuster will turn a new leaf, I'm guessing that it wasn't an accident that prices were obscured. Come on Vice Presidents of Big Companies, the rules have changed!
BB throws in Blurays, PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 discs for that price and if you happen to live next to one of the last dozen BB stores you can exchange your discs there as often as you like.
On top of that the issue for most folks, myself included, wasn't the cost, it was that the cost was being increased for no particular reason and there wasn't even an attempt to placate the subscriber base. On top of that they made disrespectful comments about how it was only the cost of a couple lattes during a down economy and have so far completely refused to even acknowledge that they insulted their subscribers.