Re:A downtick is coming for online advertising
by blihp on Thursday April 21, 2022 @04:20AM
(#31107095)
There was nothing novel about Blockbuster other than scale. VHS-on-demand started in the 70's (but didn't really get rolling until the 80's) with mom-and-pop video rental stores (which Blockbuster itself started as in 1985) which grew into small local/regional chains. Blockbuster became a roll-up of the smaller chains and most successful mom-and-pops and specialized in raising prices and maximizing revenue via late fees.
Re:A downtick is coming for online advertising
by derekp7 on Thursday April 21, 2022 @11:42AM
(#31110934)
>by streaming data from a physical DVD in their collection
Someone tried that a few years ago, using the position that they were renting out a DVD player and a very long cable. Courts didn't accept that argument and they got shut down.
... Or maybe it wasn't, and Netflix shouldn't have been either. They're fundamentally solving the same problem and delivering essentially the same value, and Blockbusters had the advantage that first-sale doctrine meant they didn't have to strike expensive licensing agreements with studios in order to serve their content.
If Netflix can combine their streaming service with their DVD catalogue, and side-step licensing restrictions by streaming data from a physical DVD in their collection to paying customers, maybe they can win back that attention. But I assume that such an application has already been challenged in court.