If the studios are going to lengthen the window for movie rentals, they can expect some resistance from two of the bigger rental companies. Blockbuster and Red Box have both voice opposition to a new 56-day wait for users to be able to rent new releases.
In an effort to support DVD sales, Warner Brothers is looking to make rental firms wait 56 instead of 28 days after a DVD goes on sale before they can offer the latest releases.
Netflix is going along with the new plan, with Bloomberg citing an analyst as saying that the online streaming provider’s business model won’t be hurt. “As a company that’s really not focused on new releases, Netflix doesn’t really care about a move from 28 days to 56,” said Eric Wold, an analyst at B. Riley & Co. “For the other companies, new releases really dominate their rentals, so that kind of delay would really hurt them.”
Blockbuster stores are buying Warner movies from others the day they go on sale, so they can rent them out right away, a source toldBloomberg.
Redbox owner Coinstar, whose current 28-day delay deal with Warner Bros. expires at the end of the month, hasn’t agreed to a longer waiting period and has signaled it could also find alternatives, according to Bloomberg.
“The current agreement Coinstar has with Warner Bros. is to receive movie titles 28 days after their release,” a Coinstar spokeswoman said. “No revised agreements are in place.”
A Warner Bros. spokesman had no comment on the state of talks with Blockbuster and Redbox.
That will not help DVD Sales… If the movie is good, it will sell not matter how short the window.
They’re just trying to lure blind buyers who will have buyer’s remorse, but they would sell more of the crappy movies that they release.
I don’t know where these companies get their info, but I know I wouldn’t buy a movie that I hadn’t yet seen, and seeing movies that I missed in the theatre is the only reason I rent. So now I just have to wait a little longer to see the movie before deciding if I want to buy it. This move does nothing for sales, and delays any rental revenues that would be received from people like me.