Best Buy Planning Movie Download Service?

[Emabulator]

Variety is reporting (http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118002532.html?categoryId=20&cs=1) that retailer Best Buy could be launching a movie download service later this year in an effort to offset lost revenue from slumping DVD sales.

Stung by falling DVD sales, Best Buy is on the verge of launching a digital movie service that could debut as early as this summer, according to studio insiders.

The chain is in talks with CinemaNow and other online movie services to create a download business that it hopes will offset falling DVD sales, studio execs said.

Details on how exactly Best Buy would benefit from a potential partnership with CinemaNow, and others, are still being finalized. But one possibility is that Best Buy would market and sell Web-enabled devices -- from TVs to Blu-ray players -- that would include built-in access to CinemaNow's library. Such devices may roll out as soon as this summer. Best Buy would presumably share in the revenues generated from downloads or streaming with CinemaNow or another provider.

[gzsfrk]

I don't see how they can compete with my current combination of NetFlix and XBLM. $8.99 a month for Netflix, with all the downloadable movies I want over my 360 (even WITH the limited selection)--best thing to happen to my movie watching experience in years. We still enjoy driving out to Hastings to rent the occasional movie (we mostly just enjoy getting a chai tea and perusing their books), but most of the movies I watch now are either DVDs or streamed ones from Netflix.

Of course, I'll happily give Best Buy a chance when they roll out their service, particularly if the integrate themselves into the Xbox 360 the way Netflix has. But if it's a PC-only interface, I doubt I'll use it much. I can hook my laptop into our home theater if need be, but it's a hassle compared to just being able to turn on my 360 and start watching any movie in my Instant Queue.

[Evil Avatar]

Seems like the last ditch effort of a company that hasn't kept up with the competition. The sooner they die the better. After years of getting overcharged to rent movies from them I will certainly be one of the people dancing on their grave when they are gone.

[AspectVoid]

Its actually pretty easy for Best Buy to kill it. First, there are A LOT of homes that have tech knowlegable people who don't own a video game system, so there a large chunk of market out there. Second, Best Buy and CinemaNow get other companies on board, like Toshiba, Samsung, etc, and start tossing hard drives into TVs, Blu-Ray players, DVD Players, etc. Then you make a cheap stand-alone box available for people not in the market for new electronics. Then you market it every Sunday and watch it sell.

[Sammael]

Seems like the last ditch effort of a company that hasn't kept up with the competition. The sooner they die the better. After years of getting overcharged to rent movies from them I will certainly be one of the people dancing on their grave when they are gone.

Um, what?
You rented DVD's from Best Buy?

I think I missed something, or Evil is going senile ;/

[Evil Avatar]

Um, what?
You rented DVD's from Best Buy?

I think I missed something, or Evil is going senile ;/

Doh! I was thinking of Blockbuster. Well, I'm no fan of Best Buy either. Heh. I'll be dancing on both their graves soon enough. :p

[Limech]

Well, if they didn't sell DVDs at $27 and Blu-rays at $37 CAN I would buy more movies instead of going for other alternatives.

[MasterEvilAce]

Doh! I was thinking of Blockbuster. Well, I'm no fan of Best Buy either. Heh. I'll be dancing on both their graves soon enough. :p

I read best buy, and STILL thought blockbuster, too.

TBH, I do think businesses that can't keep up need to die.. but at the same time, when all the competition dries up... what are we left with?

[Samstag]

I read best buy, and STILL thought blockbuster, too.

TBH, I do think businesses that can't keep up need to die.. but at the same time, when all the competition dries up... what are we left with?

Exxongooglemicrosoft, Inc is my guess. I might be a little off on the order of the names, though.

[DarkDaY]

8 replies and 599 views??!?! dam, lets go people, you have opinions don't you????

[Sensei-X]

Stupid move really, there's more than enough services that will rent you movies that you can watch on your TV. I think most people from what I've noticed don't care if they have 4 million movies that they can rent for $4 and buy for $14-19 or whatever. People want to have a service where they have a large selection, even if that selection is a bit more limited than the pay to view services, and pay one flat rate. So they can watch whatever they want, whenever they want and not have to keep track of what they watch or be picky about what movie to watch. Me, my brother and several of my friends use Netflix to stream movies and there's plenty of movies we would've never watched if we had to risk it being a stinker and being out $4 a pop.

[LilAbner]

I don't see how they can compete with my current combination of NetFlix and XBLM.

Wait, you pay to rent a movie over XBLM?

That is by far the biggest ripoff. For example, the new Punisher movie is 480 MS points (assuming you want it in HD), or $6 to rent. The Redbox .5 miles from my home rents the same movie for $1 per night.

And don't get me started on TV shows....

[LilAbner]

Doh! I was thinking of Blockbuster. Well, I'm no fan of Best Buy either. Heh. I'll be dancing on both their graves soon enough. :p

He just doesn't like the colors blue and yellow. :)

[Verruckt]

Not interested in the least.

By the way, yellow sucks. Blue's OK, but yellow ruins the whole thing.

[Silverbaine]

meh, this is why I have netflix.

[drakkarim]

Well, if they didn't sell DVDs at $27 and Blu-rays at $37 CAN I would buy more movies instead of going for other alternatives.

bingo. i don't know if their markup is abnormal or not compared to others, or if its just the studios thinking all their crap is worth a king's ransom, but the prices for dvds and blurays are still a joke as far as i'm concerned.

[Demo_Boy]

Basically Netflix owns movie rentals now, via 360.