Do The "Death of Blockbuster" Stories Greatly Exaggerate?

I've seen a lot of stories that proclaim "The Death of Blockbuster" (including this one from News.com, Say goodbye to Blockbuster).

I hardly think we've seen the last of Blockbuster, but they do have a tough road ahead of them. Blockbuster Chairman Jim Keyes is just getting started, and he might have saved the company by pulling out of the expensive online war with Netflix. With Movie Gallery out of the way, refocusing on stores and getting more revenue of of their 20 million monthly customers makes sense in the short-term. Keep in mind that it's going to be a while before DVD goes away (and my Dad watches a movie online).

Do you think Blockbuster is down for the count?

Thanks to Jason for sending this in.

Comments

[brent]

I think Blockbusters days of rental by mail is nearing its end. I also think they will eventually fail completely, but for now will linger on for a while.

[Old Timer Too]

News greatly exaggerated? When don't they exaggerate the news?

No, I do not think BB is going the way of the do-do bird, though some of their recent decisions have been just plain dumb, dumb, and dumber.

They alienated a lot of users and lost half-a-million subscribers.

They may see one or more quarters of similar losses in subscriber base.

They have a lot of things to "fix" about their on-line program. Hopefully, they will. If they don't, they will continue to lose customer base.

But as to news reports? Chicken Little LIVES! Long Live Chicken Little!

[domc]

Well I'm enjoying the ride as it lasts. They are the best deal in town right now for me.
I don't think they will go out of business but they do have a serious problem on there hands.
I know that I would ever switch back to Netflix though. I can't stand the throttling thing. I may just go back to renting DVD's from our local mom and pop shop. The old fashioned way.Yes, we still have one in town.

[noe638]

It does seem like Total Access was their last stand and it is hard to believe they switched gears so quickly.

I personally think they would have been better off restricting new releases (as some franchise stores did), their bread & butter, to their total access customers. Allowing TA customers to gobble up new releases caused an increased inventory (and higher expenses) necessary to fill demand and left their traditional store customers with a poor experience at the store when they were out of them, and created excess inventories when the movie was no longer popular. A TA customer should have to put new releases in their online queue and hope to get them by mail. If they get them at the store, they should pay for it, if even at a reduced rate. They should have marketed TA as a way to get filler movies until your next mailers come, not as a way to get new releases in the store. I think every rational renter would have understood this approach. What they ended up doing was alienating a lot of people with the price increases and uncertainty about the program and cannibalizing their current (and profitable) customer base by migrating them to Total Access.

[aspects]

I agree with noe.

I thought their price increase should have been for Total Access Premium, where you paid more but could get unlimited store trade-ins including new releases. Leaving the regular Total Access where you could get unlimited store trade-ins on everything but new releases.

When I was with them for three months I never got a new release. Most of the time their back stock inventory sits there. I doubt my renting movies like The Clan of the Cave Bear prevented anyone else from renting it.

Off topic: If you go to sign up for Blockbuster only show Total Access and by Mail programs. You have to click See All Programs to see the Total Access Premium. Obviously they do not want people signing up for that.