Blockbuster has seen the enemy, and it’s Netflix (and Amazon and Apple and so on). They are clearly hedging their bets against their cash cow ‘brick and mortar’ movie rental business for the shift to online VOD. They already have launched a streaming VOD product, with both online and set-top-box versions. They are now expanding their online VOD presence with a new partnership with Sonic Solutions. According to a Blockbuster company statement, the alliance will give Blockbuster access to a variety of devices including “…PCs, portable media players, Blu-ray Disc players, personal video recorders (PVRs), set-top boxes, mobile phones and Web-connected television sets. Additionally, the two companies will make their digital libraries of mainstream content available under the Blockbuster brand resulting in one of the most expansive VOD (video on demand) and EST (electronic sell-through) offerings in the marketplace.” Sonic has built its own digital media delivery ecosystem through the CinemaNow brand.
