MUMBAI: Warners will allow Blockbuster to rent its films the day they are made available on DVD giving the chain a lucrative four-week head start over Netflix and Redbox.
The pact includes three of the four distribution methods Blockbuster engages in: on-demand digital delivery, its by-mail subscription service and the old-fashioned method of renting to consumers who walk into their dwindling store locations.
Blockbuster‘s dollar-kiosks also will rent new releases from Warners — and every other studio — the same day the DVD hits stores.
When Redbox and Netflix agreed to the 28-day moratorium, they did so to ensure a steady flow of product at a reasonable cost. In Blockbuster‘s case, insiders said its deal with Warners was expiring, so an extension — with modifications — was in order.
It is said that the arrangement that extends to the end of the calendar year also doubles Blockbuster‘s in-store inventory of Warners titles.
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