One Man's Plan to Save Blockbuster

It now has movies 28 days earlier—but must change pricing
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Apr 30, 2010 12:22 PM CDT
One Man's Plan to Save Blockbuster
In this Aug. 10, 2009 file photo, a sign hangs outside of a Blockbuster Video store in downtown Boston.   (AP Photo/Eric J. Shelton, file)

A Blockbuster shareholder and former DVD kiosk owner—who tried to warn the company of the impending movie rental revolution back in 2005—says Blockbuster can be saved. Yes, it’s $1 billion in debt and looks doomed, but because Netflix and Redbox recently signed a deal delaying their access to many new films for 28 days, Blockbuster has a new window of opportunity it must exploit, Greg Meyer tells Slate.

Having belatedly launched mail service, streaming service, and kiosk service, Blockbuster is again a one-stop shop. Now it must simply change its pricing scheme. Instead of charging $5 for 5 nights on every title, charge $2 for 2 nights on older titles—plus $1 for each additional night. That way, when customers rent an old and new title together, they’ll likely keep them both for 5 nights, making Blockbuster an extra $3 on the old title, or they'll cram them both into 2 nights, returning the new title 3 nights early.
(More Blockbuster stories.)

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