Like a drug dealer’s car or a foreclosed home, you can sometimes find tons of valuable property from questionable origins at auctions. Such was the case when Dish Network wandered into to a bankruptcy auction to find Blockbuster Inc. sitting on the table. Like a historic antique peddler that just discovered Eleanor Roosevelt’s vibrator, Dish Network enthusiastically snatched up Blockbuster right away for a cool $228 million.
Once a few minor details are hammered out, Dish Network will have access to Blockbuster’s extensive line of empty stores, their online multimedia outlet reseller web presence cleverly disguised as a competent streaming service, and most of all the blessings of the movies studios who tend to prefer Blockbuster’s clunkier model to the likes of Netflix and RedBox.
But what to do with all these newfound powers? Well, we’ve got a few ideas:
1.) Bundle Dish Network and Blockbuster versions of the same movie together for a “Two-Download Combo” and hike the price by about five bucks (since it works for discs).
2.) Turn Blockbuster stores into “assisted living centers” for movie studio execs who are getting a bit too old.
3.) Repurpose Blockbuster rental kiosks as “streetside theaters”. Rather than merely renting discs, show feature-length movies for $8 a pop. This will capitalize on the currently untapped people-who-start-watching-a-movie-on-the-demo-TVs-at-Wal-Mart-and-stay-for-the-whole-thing market.
4.) Follow in Netflix’s path by creating original content. To start things off, sign Jack Black and Mos Def on for three seasons of a Be Kind Rewind TV series, using existing Blockbuster stores for sets. Sell tickets for live tapings.
5.) Create a competitive, quality video delivery service that can rival Netflix, driving quality higher, costs lower, while simultaneously creating a thriving, progressive, forward-thinking business model.
[Edited for realism.]
Source: Engadget
“5.) Create a competitive, quality video delivery service that can rival Netflix, driving quality higher, costs lower, while simultaneously creating a thriving, progressive, forward-thinking business model.”
Nah!