Looks like Netflix has awakened a sleeping giant. Compared to the same time last year, Blockbusters online presence has suddenly become a reckoning force in the battle for Online movie rentals. Statistics taken from both websites show that last year, Blockbuster had 2 million unique visitors in November and Netflix had 9 million. This November the tables have dramatically turned, Blockbuster has enjoyed 9.3 uniques and guess what? Netflix had 8.2 million in the same period, according to comScore Networks!
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This is especially a concern for investors when Blockbuster's mainstay offline business is under pressure, prompting the company to bid for Hollywood Entertainment as one solution to defend its movie-rental turf. Soon, Amazon.com will also be entering the picture with a DVD-download business, according to Netflix. Amazon.com has not denied or confirmed that it has any plans. But recently, Amazon.com launched a DVD rental business in the U.K.
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The article went on to say that the Dallas based Blockbuster has added to it's series of hard to ignore specials. This week, Blockbuster announced it would waive its late fees. This is a bold move because as we all have suspected, this is a real cash cow for Blockbuster, but until now we didn't know how big a cow it was. Would you believe; late fees would have contributed $250 million to $300 million to operating income in 2005, that has got to sting!
Source: Always On Network
