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Online DVD Rental

U.K. Online DVD Rental Firm Lovefilm Buys Screenclick for $3.6 Million

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 11, 2006 - 4:06am.
Dublin - According the Irish Times, Lovefilm, a U.K.-based online DVD rental firm, has acquired Ireland-based Screenclick.com for about $3.6 million. Screenclick, which has more than 15,000 registered users in Ireland, will be rebranded as Lovefilm.ie. Screenclick founder and CEO Frank O'Grady will remain as CEO of Lovefilm.ie. Lovefilm said it planned to launch a video-on-demand service in Ireland sometime next month. The company has also worked with Intel to make the service compatible with Intel's new Viiv platform for the home entertainment market.
tags: VC | Lovefilm | Deal | Online DVD Rental | Screenclick |

Blockbuster Raises Online DVD Rental Prices in Line With Netflix

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on August 9, 2005 - 10:54am.
Dallas -- Blockbuster on Tuesday raised the price for its online DVD rental service from $14.99 to $17.99 per month, bringing it back in line with pricing at its main competitor, Netflix. The move came as the company reported a loss for the recent quarter that was double analysts' estimates, blamed on weak rentals of new releases and its decision to eliminate late fees. Blockbuster said its online DVD rental service now claims more than 1 million members, and that it added the same number of net new subscribers during the first half of 2005 as did Netflix. The company expects to claim 2 million subscribers by the end of the first quarter of 2006.
tags: Netflix | Blockbuster | Online DVD Rental |

Blockbuster Discounts Online DVD Rental Service to $17.49 Per Month

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 18, 2004 - 9:40am.
Dallas -- Video rental giant Blockbuster announced on Monday that it will discount the price of its online rental subscription service from $20 to $17.49, undercutting rival Netflix's price cut last week from $22.50 to $17.99. Netflix in turn said that its decision to lower its monthly subscription fee was due to its belief that online retail giant Amazon.com will soon launch its own DVD rental service. Blockbuster also said that the two free in-store rentals that are provided to its online DVD rental service subscribers may now also be used for video game rentals. "We are determined to do whatever it takes to be the leader in the online rental space," said Blockbuster CEO. John Antioco. "In the first six weeks since the service launched we've signed up more subscribers than Netflix signed up in its first year and a half of existence. Additionally, we are confident that we will end this year with more subscribers than Netflix had after its first three and a half years."
tags: Subscriptions | Blockbuster | Discounts | Online DVD Rental |

Netflix: Amazon.com May Enter Online DVD Rental Market

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on October 15, 2004 - 9:54am.
Los Gatos, Calif. -- Shares of online DVD rental service Netflix plunged over 40% on Friday after the company said it learned that online retail giant Amazon.com may be planning to enter the market for online DVD rentals. "Our customers have been encouraging us to offer low-price, online DVD rentals, but we have no announcement to make at this time," Amazon spokeswoman Patty Smith told Reuters. Both Blockbuster and Wal-Mart have launched online DVD rental services as well. Los Gatos, Calif.-based Netflix said it plans to discount its subscription price from $22 to $18 a month in anticipation of looming competition; the company earlier this year raised subscriptions from $20 to $22. Netflix currently counts over 2.2 million subscribers.
tags: Netflix | Amazon.com | Online DVD Rental |