Netflix Market About To Get Crowded
from the no-surprise-there dept
Really not a surprise at all, but it seems that Netflix is about to find some deep pocketed competitors entering their space. We had already mentioned how Blockbuster was testing out a subscription fee rental plan in certain markets, but they're also going to compete directly with yet-to-be-announced plans to offer rentals through the mail. At the same time, Wal-Mart has decided to get into the space too, and will soon be offering a subscription plan for DVD rentals. Finally, Columbia House, famous for their music and movie buying subscription service, is looking around for a partner (possibly Netflix) to do subscription rentals as well. It's clearly a growing market, so this isn't much of a surprise. Netflix says their early lead will help them stay on top, but who knows if that's really true. If the competition forces them to start dropping their prices, it's unclear how long Netflix can stick around.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
