[written by That Grrl]
I have long disliked Blockbuster for their hypocrisies in film availability (as well as their bizarre way of filing their films; is “Gone With the Wind” a drama? Romance? Adventure? Classic? Where in the hell IS it already?!). But this is just ridiculous. IFC has clearly lost its mind in deciding to give Blockbuster “an exclusive 60-day rental window, including both the physical and digital rental distribution channels, for each title as it becomes available. During this period no title will be available on a retail basis in any format.” Currently, Netflix and Blockbuster operate on a pretty even playing field, making use of the “first sale doctrine.” Under federal law, first purchaser can also rent that purchase to others via a system such as Netflix. The agreement between IFC and Blockbuster essentially delays all retail sales of an IFC movie until after the 60-day Blockbuster rental period is over. Theoretically, an agreement which could be duplicated with other film companies and distributors.
Why does any of this matter? I really can’t explain it any better than the linked article, by Jim Emerson, Chicago Sun-Times blogger and editor of RogerEbert.com. The article not only clarifies why this is important, but discusses other Blockbuster practices that simply nauseate me as a consumer and lover of film. Right now? Pretty happy to say that I’ll be sticking with Netflix and Sneak Reviews (when nothing but brick and morter will suffice). For a city that supports film passionately enough to host the VA Film Festival and to keep the likes of Vinegar Hill in business, this seems like information many in Charlottesville might like to have.–ThatGrrl
[read more at Sun Times]
Related posts:
- Area Blockbusters Call It Quits, Blames Interwebs
- Minor Sues Danielson over Breach of Contract and Fraud
- Get out of my face(book)
the last time i walked in a blockbuster, i walked out, went straight home, and sold all my stock. it’s that good!
I think I’m banned from the local blockbusters… and as such I don’t recomend hunting for movie rentals post foxfield and trying to “negociate” your way out of all your outstanding late fees based on the premise that it was your roommate and not you who failed to return Lord of the Rings.
/i love netflix
one additional reason not to go to Blockbuster, although the exclusivity deal sucks for everyone across the board. i have been continually (and mountingly) disappointed every time i’ve gone into Blockbuster the last few years and try to avoid it as much as humanly possible.
Thank the gods for Bit Torrent!
ARGH…I dislike Blockbuster immensely, but I still find myself renting movies from there…
MUST STOP…
Everything about that company is offensive including the SOB that works at the store by Kmart who was expounding quite loudly one day to another employee about how 9/11 was god punishing America for being wicked and sinful…
You know, the gays, the abortions, websites like this one
It’s this just going to encourage even more piracy?
You know, the gays, the abortions, websites like this one
I know, you villains need to get right with the baby jesus.
(and please try clicks and roll overs for bonus freaky)
they’ve got it all wrong, god doesn’t punish people. he rewards them for kicking ass in godless nations. the reward is hedge funds and real estate meltdowns. it is such a good deal, seriously.
@6 – That’s terrifying. *Shudders*
I haven’t been to a Blockbuster in years. I dropped a couple movies in the quick drop once the day they were due and apparently nobody checked it until the next day. They charged me a late fee and the manager refused to remove it, and was all snippy to me. Haven’t been back since. Besides, I have some 130 movies on my Netflix queue as it is, no need to rent more.
baby jesus looks like he’s 40+
Did you see the advert for the people who can turn lesbians straight. Talk about evil.
Nice, ThatGrrl! Harris Teeter’s movie vending machine. It’s refilled every Tuesday just like Blockbuster, and it’s $1/day.
Lys, you crack me up. And thanks for the “bite me” commentary. I was a little down.
The movie distribution business is changing SO much. “No Country For Old Men” is in theaters and video stores at the same time. It doesn’t make sense to me that the retail DVD business would be interrupting DVD rental business because I so rarely buy DVDs. As far as I knew, the business that was losing the most was theatrical release.
Sherman anti-trust? Is that relevant?
grownup jesus is cooler:
http://www.hyperdeathbabies.com/index.php?dir=anomaly&comic=189
Sherman anti-trust wouldn’t come into play, I’m afraid. It’s for big, permanent monopolies. 60-days on any one individual film (even if repeated with other films from the same company) wouldn’t get you there.
Hadn’t ever even looked at the Teeter rentals. But I highly recommend Sneak Reviews. Particularly if your thing happens to be either foreign film or documentaries. Best selection in town. Admittedly, with Netflix, I haven’t been there in ages. But if I felt the craving for a film more quickly than Netflix would allow, you’d find me in the foreign film section at Sneak Reviews (located conveniently close to the outdoor patio at Vivace).
I like that Netflix has the “watch instantly online” feature for many movies, but I’m miffed that it’s not Mac-compatible. Anyone know why?
Also: does anyone use the Blockbuster mail-in service (their “Netflix killer” that hasn’t done much killing)? Does that service allow users to watch instantly?
Netflix says: “We’re required to use Digital Rights Management to protect movies watched instantly online, and right now we only have approval for this protection on Windows Operating systems, not the Mac.”
I’m miffed too. They say they’re working on it, but who knows how long that will take…
Speaking of cool shizzle, did you guys see the hulu full movies section? Awesome…with commercials though
http://www.hulu.com/movies
I got the hulu beta version ages back and really like it! It gives you a commerical countdown, which (at least for me) makes it a little easier to handle. “Only 12 more seconds? Not terrible. I’ll go grab a Coke.” Mind you, I’ve only used it for watching television series episodes. Which means you end up with fewer commercials than watching the show live. But watching a movie with commercials? Yeah. That’s not as palatable.
I subscribe to both services. Better selection at netflix but BB’s is arguably better and it’s envelope design blows netflix out of the water (if industrial design is your concern). BB doesn’t offer streaming video on its site but it does (for a few dollars a month) allow you to exchange your dvd’s for free in-store rentals. (up to 6 per month, I think). If I had to choose between them, I’d choose netflix. But it’s envelope is sooo incopentently designed that I’d be tempted to go with bb out of principal.
Blockbuster is the bastard child of the Antichrist, and anyone who spends even one dollar there, if even only to buy one of their seven year old snickers bars, is supporting the primary colored homogenization of an increasingly less interesting society. A pox on the box.
/no, tell us how you really feel.
um … ok
thanks
I’ll recommend Redbox for those who live or work near a grocery store. Very convenient. Discovered it last year after Blockbuster had 1 copy of Knocked Up, and 40 copies of some crap I’d never want to see. Of course Redbox had Knocked Up. Check it out in town at Teeter (Barracks), Giant (Pantops), and a few other places I think.
Sneak Reviews is great. Netflix is the bomb. BB is good enough.
But what about porno? Where can one rent good porno ’round here?
Thor’s got it right- hulu is pretty cool but it’s got to get a bigger selection. Netflix around here is blindingly fast with what has been averaging around 4 day turnaround from when I get the 1st movie, watch/mail the next day and the 2nd movie is in my mailbox. Redbox.com is good for the new release that you wait awhile for on the the Netflix queue.
But ladies and gents please wait until the fall to buy your bluray player. Nothing today (PS3 excepted) will be able to handle the 2.0 version upgrade coming out this fall. It’s pretty, pretty eyecandy but wait on the bluray.
porno rental? people still pay for that?