Blockbuster To Bully Hollywood Studios With Shelf Space

To stop the proverbial bleeding, it looks like Blockbuster is set to bust out whatever card they need to play to win the game, and get back on top.

According to THR, days after reporting $65.4 million in net losses for the first quarter of the fiscal year, the company is prepared to play hard ball with studios in order to make it back to the top of the video rental mountain, one that is quite clogged with outlets like Redbox and Netflix making more than a bit of a name for themselves.

The outlet is reporting that the company is willing to take away shelf space for studios who do not give them access to their films prior to Netflix and Redbox. Currently, Warner Brothers, Fox and Universal have placed 28 day rental embargoes on Netflix and Redbox, giving Blockbuster access to their films a full four weeks earlier than those two outlets.

Blockbuster CEO has said that those studios who give Blockbuster this sort of rental window will be given the most shelf space at their respective stores. With stores like Movie Gallery slowly disappearing, it looks like Blockbuster will do damn near anything to stay away from that ultimate downturn. However, I have to think that it’s a bit too little, too late.

Personally, I don’t see how this could change much, if anything for the legendary video rental staple. I haven’t gone into their stores, outside of trying to get a job, in probably over a decade, and with the advent of Netflix and Redbox, I see little reason to start. Sure, it’s a pretty large window, but it’s a window that isn’t a big enough deterrent to make me decide to jump ship on Netflix and Redbox. Sure, I would have to wait a month to see a film, but at the rate of how quick films are released to DVD and Blu-Ray, I can’t help but think that the writing is starkly on the wall when it comes to Blockbuster’s future.

What do you think? Is this news something that should deter studios from going against the 28-day window? Or is it a non-issue?

Source: THR