Blockbuster has stepped up its attack on rival Netflix, pushing its online subscribers past the 2m mark (Netflix still has a comfortable lead with nearly 6m subscribers). Who will prevail, can they coexist, or are they both doomed in the long-run? I read their advertisements, surfed their internet sites, signed up for the free trial from both Blockbuster and Netflix, and still couldn't come to a conclusion.
Blockbuster or Netflix?
As advertised:
Netflix has more: Titles, 70,000, compared to Blockbuster's 65,000. Rental plans, 6 compared to Blockbuster's 3. In addition, Netflix has a 4-at-a-time plan, while Blockbuster's largest plan is a 3-at-a-time plan. Free trial time, Netflix gives you a month, Blockbuster gives you two weeks.
They both are the same on: Price, and with both you are charged rental tax, usually the same as sales tax, in almost every state.
Blockbuster has an advantage in: Having lots of stores, because you can return either Blockbuster OR Netflix movie titles to many Blockbuster stores, to get a free in-store movie rental. The Blockbuster store returns the movie for you, and the next movie in your queue is sent.
As surfed:
Both of them are rather similar and use a queue to line up movies you want in the future. It is slightly more difficult to find out about Blockbuster's two cheaper plans, probably because they want you to sign up for their 3-at-a-time plan.
As tried:
*Netflix movies routinely came a day faster than the Blockbuster ones. Netflix movies sent out on a Monday were received by Netflix on Tuesday (confirmation sent via email) and a new movie was received on Wednesday. With Blockbuster, I received the new movie on Thursday.
*Blockbuster lacked a few obscure (Chinese) titles I was looking for, which Netflix happily coughed up with one click of the "search" button.
*I forgot about the in-store feature that Blockbuster offers
*Both Netflix and Blockbuster carry Playboy movies.
The Blockbuster deal does sound appetizing considering the in-store option. However, how often would people actually use that plan? A local video-store owner, who I had a chat with as I rented movies with the intention of ripping them to my iPod, told me he actually thought the Blockbuster strategy was a good one. He said many of his customers who use Netflix still come in on the whim to get a movie for something spontaneous. He reckoned that in the long-run and considering Blockbuster's sheer number of stores, the Blockbuster plan may be appetizing for those types of people (This is obviously assuming that eventually, Blockbuster will stop accepting Netflix rentals for free in-store Blockbuster rentals).
Maybe the video-store owner isn't right, though. Our generation demands quick service, and who wants to drive to the video store, anyway? That requires remembering to put the DVD in the car, driving, parking, walking into a store, browsing, waiting in line and driving some more. Indeed it's a nice option, but will people actually use it? Is Blockbuster's store option worth the extra day wait for the movie? And why doesn't Blockbuster have as many titles as Netflix? Haven't they been in the business longer? If Blockbuster can add distribution centers to cut down on delivery time, and if they can expand their selection, Netflix may need to reconsider. But Blockbuster isn't there yet, and who knows. . .maybe Blockbuster will consolidate with Netflix (a move that inevitably will pain us consumers, woe the lack of competition).
But the real question remains. What about people like me who rip DVDs to their iPod? More specifically, what about downloads and pay-per-view? A friend who's a financial analyst covering Netflix doesn't see this happening any time soon. He points out that DVDs, around for over a decade, are just now achieving full penetration in the market (suggesting that technology still takes a while to reach the full consumer audience). Plus, digital-rights-management technology is cumbersome, with companies like Apple and Sony subscribing to different standards which makes it confusing and annoying as a consumer. Further, broadband will increase in speed, but when and by how much? To download movies that are 7-10 gigabytes, you'll need some serious speed if you want to download a 2 hour movie faster than driving down to the video store and driving back.
Who knows? Let's wait and see.
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