Poor Netflix continues to have a really rough few weeks. Customers squawked at its pricing changes. Starz walked out on its streaming-video service. Now Blockbuster says it will start its own online streaming service.Blockbuster’s new service will seek to, ahem, emulate Netflix’s uber popular Watch Instantly feature, which has a wide smattering of TV programs and films from a variety of studios. And rumors suggest Blockbuster’s new offering will include Starz. No word on whether Blockbuster will bundle DVD rentals with the stream or go the Netflix route and offer separate packages. Subscription fees remain a mystery, too.
Right now, Blockbuster has an a la cart streaming option, Blockbuster On Demand, and you can buy digital movies as well. Blockbuster’s new parent company, Dish Network, remains mum on the subject.
If this was the end of Netflix’s recent bad tidings, its executives might try to shrug it all off. But Amazon announced that its LoveFilm, which is basically European Netflix, will look to move into “new markets.” No exact specifications on those markets, but those few weeks of bad news could turn into a nasty couple of months.
Read more at TechLand.
