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Blockbuster to Go Blu-ray Only in 1400+ Stores
Mon Jun 18, 2007 at 01:52 AM ETTags: Blockbuster, High-Def Disc Rentals, Industry Trends (all tags)
Blockbuster says it will expand its high-def disc rental program by 1,450 stores in July, but in a blow to the HD DVD camp, each of the new stores will only carry Blu-ray.
The nation's largest video chain began renting both Blu-ray and HD DVD discs in 250 stores in late 2006, but it says it has found that its customers have chosen Blu-ray titles more than 70 percent of the time.
"The consumers are sending us a message. I can't ignore what I'm seeing," Matthew Smith, senior vice president of merchandising at Blockbuster told the AP.
While the company will continue to rent HD DVD discs in the original 250 stores and via its online rental service, its July expansion to 1,450 additional stores will see the rentailer go Blu-ray only.
Blockbuster told the Associated Press that the decision was helped in large part by the lopsided availability of titles in Blu-ray. "When you walk into a store and see all this product available in Blu-ray and there is less available on HD DVD, I think the consumer gets that," Smith said.
The HD DVD Promotional Group called Blockbuster's decision "shortsighted," and attributed Blu-ray's performance at Blockbuster to that format's stronger release slate in the first three months of 2007.
"I think trying to make a format decision using such a short time period is really not measuring what the consumer is saying," said Ken Graffeo, co-president of the group.
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
- Related links:
- Blockbuster to favor Blu-ray HD disc [Associated Press]
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- Blockbuster to Test Blu-ray, HD DVD Rentals (Nov 06, 2006)
Blockbuster to Test Blu-ray, HD DVD Rentals
Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 04:37 PM ETTags: High-Def Disc Rentals, Blockbuster (all tags)
After a week of rumors, Blockbuster has confirmed it will test Blu-ray and HD DVD rentals at select outlets nationwide starting immediately.
After a leak of the news first appeared in a post at AVS Forum, speculation ran rampant on the web that the struggling rental giant was about to begin testing high-def rentals in about 250 of its high-volume stores, with each stocking about 40 titles to start, then adding about four to six titles monthly. High-def titles would rent at the same rate as standard-def DVDs.
Blockbuster has now confirmed those plans to Video Business. "It's a careful selection process," Blockbuster spokesman Randy Hargrove said of the experiment. "We're looking at DVD adoption rate and hardware penetration. We'll continue to watch the market and monitor to see where additional expansion will be appropriate."
This marks Blockbuster's first foray into storefront high-def rentals, though the chain's online arm has been offering Blu-ray and HD DVD titles for several months.
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
- Related links:
- Big Blue Tests High-Def Formats [Video Business]
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- Rumor Mill: Blockbuster to Stock HD DVD, Blu-ray? (Nov 01, 2006)
Blockbuster to Test Blu-ray, HD DVD Rentals
Mon Nov 06, 2006 at 04:37 PM ETTags: High-Def Disc Rentals, Blockbuster (all tags)
After a week of rumors, Blockbuster has confirmed it will test Blu-ray and HD DVD rentals at select outlets nationwide starting immediately.
After a leak of the news first appeared in a post at AVS Forum, speculation ran rampant on the web that the struggling rental giant was about to begin testing high-def rentals in about 250 of its high-volume stores, with each stocking about 40 titles to start, then adding about four to six titles monthly. High-def titles would rent at the same rate as standard-def DVDs.
Blockbuster has now confirmed those plans to Video Business. "It's a careful selection process," Blockbuster spokesman Randy Hargrove said of the experiment. "We're looking at DVD adoption rate and hardware penetration. We'll continue to watch the market and monitor to see where additional expansion will be appropriate."
This marks Blockbuster's first foray into storefront high-def rentals, though the chain's online arm has been offering Blu-ray and HD DVD titles for several months.
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
- Related links:
- Big Blue Tests High-Def Formats [Video Business]
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- Rumor Mill: Blockbuster to Stock HD DVD, Blu-ray? (Nov 01, 2006)
Rumor Mill: Blockbuster to Stock HD DVD, Blu-ray? (Updated)
Wed Nov 01, 2006 at 05:03 PM ETTags: Blockbuster, High-Def Disc Rentals (all tags)
Struggling video rentailer Blockbuster may be testing the high-def waters this holiday season with a rumored expansion to HD DVD and Blu-ray in some of its most high-volume stores.
At least that's what one poster on AVS Forum says a New York-based Blockbuster store manager told him.
According to the poster's account, beginning on November 7th, select Blockbuster outlets will participate in what's being termed an "experiment" -- stocking 40 titles on both HD DVD and Blu-ray, and adding 4-6 titles each month. The high-def titles will rent at the same rate as standard def discs.
If true, this wouldn't be Blockbuster's first foray with the high-def formats. Like Netflix, the company has been renting high-def discs via itsonline rental service Blockbuster.com since the formats both launched earlier this year.
But given the limited shelf-space of their bricks and mortar outlets, such an experiment would nonetheless be notable, and might serve to encourage other bricks and mortar video rental stores to follow suit.
We'll let you know when (and if) this story is confirmed, and if you see high-def discs for rent at *your* local Blockbuster, please drop us a line (and send us a photo) via our tips and submission form.
UPDATE: (9:00pm ET, 11/1/06) A couple updates on this one -- first, readers in Florida and California wrote in tell us that they too have been told that Blockbuster will begin carrying high-def discs in select stores in their area. And second, Murilo from Brazil sent along this photo from a Brazilian Blockbuster that is apparently already carrying high-def discs. Thanks to all for the tips.
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
- Related links:
- Select Blockbuster stores will carry BR & HD disks starting Nov 7th [AVS Forum]
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- Blockbuster Adds High-Def to Online Rental Queue (Apr 13, 2006)
Blockbuster Adds HD-DVD to Online Rental Queue
Thu Apr 13, 2006 at 01:38 PM ETTags: Blockbuster, High-Def Disc Rentals (all tags)
Coming a month after Netflix announced it would begin offering high-def DVD rentals to its subscribers, rival Blockbuster announced today it is also jumping into the next-gen DVD rental game.
Home Media Retailing reports that beginning April 18, the online rental service will give its customers the ability to add four initial HD-DVD offerings from Warner and Universal to their online rental queues.
Blockbuster will offer Warner's HD-DVD disc releases 'Million Dollar Baby,' 'Last Samurai,' 'Phantom of the Opera' and Universal's 'Serenity' this coming Tuesday; Uni's 'Apollo 13' and 'Doom' will follow a week later on April 25.
Blockbuster said it conducted a market survey of a select number of its subscribers, which found that 47 percent were "somewhat interested" in renting high-def DVDs. Another 33 percent also indicated an interest in purchasing high-def DVD hardware, "predicated on price, emergence of a standard HD format and availability of titles."
"'The Matrix' and 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' topped the list of specific movies subscribers said they'd first like to see in high-definition," Blockbuster Online senior vp Shane Evangelist told HMR. adding that the top-rated genres among likely high-def DVD renters were action, sci-fi, family, and music performance titles.
Blockbuster has not yet announced pricing for its HD-DVD rentals, though it is expected they will be the same or competitive with its standard DVD offerings.
- Related links:
- Blockbuster Queuing Up HD DVD Titles [Home Media Retailing]
- Earlier on High-Def Digest:
- Netflix Adds HD-DVD Rentals (Mar 13, 2006)
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