Through The Fly's Eyes: Blockbuster Inc.

from Theflyonthewall.com











Blockbuster Catching On, Finally

Blockbuster (BBI) announced today that it will launch "Blockbuster Total Access," a program which will allow its "online customers the option of returning their DVDs through the mail or exchanging them at... participating BLOCKBUSTER stores for free in-store movie rentals," according to the press release. This program finally leverages Blockbuster's one advantage over online rival Netflix (NFLX) - their real estate.

Due to heavy advertising and promotions, the Blockbuster Online program had already grown 50% year-over-year to 1.5 million users as of the end of September. With the addition of this close integration with the brick-and-mortar Blockbuster stores, Blockbuster should continue that growth, possibly even significantly cannibalizing Netflix customer base.

This program is clearly a big step in the right direction, unlike one of the company's previous efforts, the "No Late Fee" program, which we touched upon in August.