Re: Blockbuster Spends Last Few Dollars on Weak Ad
The studios are just doing their best to differentiate their offering in order to maximize revenue. It has nothing to do with Blockbuster vs Netflix/Redbox. The studios want more money. They realized they can make more money by selling via different channels in different time frames. If you really care about a given movie and HAVE to have it right now you’ll pay movie ticket prices. If you are willing to wait for BB then you can rent it for $5. If you are not concerned about when you get to watch it then you can get it from Redbox/Netflix at your leisure.
Blockbuster pays for the privilege of getting the discs at release. Redbox/Netflix can purchase retail copies and do as they please under first sale doctrine, but studios don’t have to cater to discounters.
There are tons of examples of this – pretty much any premium product. Sold only through authorized retail channels. No warranty, service, etc provided if you don’t buy through an approved supplier. Redbox & Netflix are essentially considered grey market by the studios. Combine that with any pricing scheme that applies time (movie theathers, airliine tickets, new cars, electronics). Start with high pricing and keep slowly reducing the price until you’ve sold it to everyone that will consume it.