Although there were once about 9,000 Blockbuster Video stores scattered around the country, there are now only 10 or so remaining. Of those, seven are located in Alaska. And apparently, the video rental business up there in the cold, wintry north isn’t so bad. [More]
video rentals
Apple Stops Renting TV Episodes, Now Only Sells Them
By 8.29.11
By renting and selling TV episodes via iTunes, Apple presented an a la carte alternative to subscription TV. Now it’s funneling viewers toward the more expensive option by eliminating the 99-cent rental option and only selling episodes, mostly in the $2-$3 range. [More]
Netflix CEO: Company Will Invest Most Of Price Hike In Streaming
By 7.20.11
When Netflix announced it would split up its streaming and disc subscriptions, making customers choose streaming or one-disc-at-a-time plans at $7.99 a month each, it didn’t offer much of an explanation as to why the price hike was needed. A writer at The Motley Fool took CEO Reed Hastings to task and asked him to justify the increase, and was surprised to get a response. [More]
Stop Netflix Disc Rentals, Lose Your Queue
By 7.18.11
With an unpopular change in its pricing and services, Netflix is splitting up its streaming and disc subscription offerings, forcing customers to choose a streaming-only or one-at-a-time disc-only plans at $7.99 a month each, or both at no bundled discount. But another choice Netflix is forcing subscribers to make is whether or not they value their queues. [More]
Report: Blockbuster To File For Bankruptcy Tomorrow Morning
By 9.22.10
About a month ago, we wrote about reports that Blockbuster Video would be filing for bankruptcy in mid-September. So it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that Bloomberg News is reporting that the video chain will be making the filing official on Thursday morning. [More]
College Libraries Save Money By Ignoring Netflix Terms Of Use
By 9.22.10
Plenty of Americans have cut their household entertainment budgets by subscribing to Netflix instead of seeing movies in theaters or purchasing DVDs. Now, some college libraries are doing the same thing, sort of. They’re using rented DVDs or streaming video instead of purchasing the movies that professors assign. Is this a violation of Netflix’s terms of use? Yes. But the librarians don’t particularly care, and Netflix doesn’t seem to, either. Yet. As a Netflix spokesman said, “We just don’t want to be pursuing libraries.” [More]
Your Redbox Reservation Is A Sacred, Unbreakable Covenant
By 7.14.10
We touched on this topic last week in a post about a broken Redbox machine, but reader Nick wants Consumerist readers to know something important about Redbox. Whether your local kiosk has been smashed in or you just plain change your mind, there is no power on earth that can cancel your reservation and give you a refund. None. [More]
Redbox Testing Game Rentals, Higher Prices
By 7.1.10
As anyone who has followed the nosedive of Blockbuster knows, it’s dangerous for a company in the video business to be too staid. Thus, DVD kiosk company Redbox is dipping its toes into the video game market at the same time it’s also testing out higher price points in some areas. [More]
Indiana Prosecutor Wants PG, PG-13, And R-Rated Movies Out Of Redbox Kiosks
By 3.4.10
Redbox kiosks are cheap and convenient sources for DVD rentals. And, according to a prosecutor in southern Indiana, they’re corrupting our children. Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Stanley Levco has sent letters threatening legal action against retailers providing space to Redbox and MovieCube kiosks. The problem? Automated kiosks don’t have enough safeguards preventing minors from renting material that could theoretically harm them. [More]
Blockbuster Goes Retro, Brings Back Late Fees
By 3.3.10
After nearly five years of offering “no late fees” to its ever-dwindling customer base, Blockbuster announced this week that it’s feeling a little nostalgic for the days it actually made money and is bringing back those good ol’ late fees. [More]
Redbox Testing Higher Prices In Some Markets
By 12.4.09
Renting a DVD for $1 per day is a simple, easy-to-understand pricing scheme. But in some markets, Redbox kiosks are testing some new pricing plans. They will charge either $2 or $1.50 for the first night, and $1 for subsequent nights. [More]
Video Mailbox: Like Netflix, Only 15 Years Too Early
By 8.20.09
I had always thought that mail-order video rental only came to be after the invention of DVDs because video tapes are too bulky and delicate to send through the mail on a regular basis. I was wrong.
