Free Blockbuster Movies for Netflix Customers

[wade moore]

http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20061205-8360.html

Blockbuster gives free rentals to Netflix users

12/5/2006 3:14:03 PM, by Nate Anderson

Blockbuster has launched a new promotion to attract Netflix users to its DVDs-by-mail service: give them free in-store movies. Through December 21, Netflix users can bring in the address flaps off their mailers and exchange them for a free rental at any local Blockbuster store.

Blockbuster wants to get the word out about its Total Access program, which allows online subscribers to bring rentals they received in the mail to a local store and exchange them for free rentals. In addition, the next movie in the customer's queue is shipped immediately, rather than being delayed until the fulfillment center receives the first disk in the mail.

Blockbuster sees Total Access as a competitive advantage over Netflix, as it allows people to get immediate gratification when they want a different title. "Many movie rental decisions are made within a few hours of the actual viewing experience, and Blockbuster Total Access is the only online rental service that can respond spontaneous rental needs through a retail network as broad as the 5000 participating Blockbuster stores nationwide," said John Antioco, the company's CEO.

Blockbuster has been looking for something to do with its local stores as business has declined. The local stores were beginning to look like a liability, but Blockbuster hopes to convert them back into an asset by integrating them into the online rental program. Will it work?

Netflix owners in search of an evening movie over the holidays might be tempted to take advantage, but many of them already have "multiple movies out at once" plans and so have several choices lying around the house at any given time. People presumably sign up for services like Netflix because they aren't interested in driving to the video store, and it's not clear that this offer will change many minds. Still, the promotion indicates that Blockbuster is getting more aggressive with its movie-by-mail service, which should ultimately be good for customers of both services.

[sooner333]

I am trying this out...I wasn't all that impressed when I tried out Blockbuster a few years ago, but they offered me another free trial. The problem before was slower turnaround times than Netflix. However, if they really do send them right away when returning the movies to the store, that should speed things up considerably.

I also really like being able to turn the movie in for an in-store rental, because I sometimes end up sitting on the movies I get in the mail because I'm not in the mood to watch them once I get them...I'll be able to watch the in-store movies as soon as I pick them out.

I'll let everyone know how this goes.

[Pumpy Tudors]

what better, blockbuster or netflix

[mauchow]

I personally LOVE LOVE LOVE Blockbuster Online for this reason alone.. I live a few miles away from Blockbuster and don't mind at all traveling THAT far to get a FREE rental, practically three times a week at my rate of movie viewing.

As soon as they process it through their store's system, the next movie in my queue gets sent to me, so I could have SIX dvd's in just a few days.

Absolutely love this idea and it will absolutely not help their in-store sales any because I am in and out of that place. Why would I spend +$4 on a new release? LoL Or buy candy for $2? Dumb.. But thanks for a GREAT system BB!!