Blockbuster has signed a deal where it will provide movies to two cable companies' subscribers to purchase on demand. Consumers are using kiosks and ordering movies from their cable tv provider more than they used to and Blockbuster is wisely moving in on this market.
Suddenlink Communications and Mediacom Communications Corp. will rebrand their video-on-demand services with the Blockbuster name, the companies said today in a statement. The cable operators will promote the service through kiosks in Blockbuster stores starting this month in Charleston, West Virginia, and Des Moines, Iowa.
"When it says Blockbuster, we know that people know that it means movies and that it means new releases," Kevin Lewis, Blockbuster's senior vice president of digital entertainment, said in a telephone interview. The agreement "signals a shift in cable and Blockbuster thinking of themselves as partners in this space rather than competitors," he said.
The arrangement may attract new cable customers, who can sign up for service at Blockbuster stores, Lewis said. He declined to disclose terms of the deal.
It's a good start, but it may be too late for the country's biggest movie rental chain. Blockbuster will close up to 960 stores through next year. The company originally had planned only to close half that number. While it's closing stores, it is adding 10,000 rental kiosks by the first half of 2010.
This is a smart move by Blockbuster, which will have to move quickly not to become irrelevant in the digital age. Blockbuster signed a deal this summer with Samsung to provide video on demand for its high-definition TVs, home theater systems and Blu-ray players.
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