Best Buy Joining Digital Movie Biz

Workers sort 650 discs per hour; machines scan 30K hourly

(NEWSER) - Distributing DVDs out of 58 warehouses across the US, Netflix keeps its operations very quiet and extremely efficient; the unmarked building that houses Chicago-area operations was so nondescript he wouldn’t be able to find it again, Christopher Borrelli writes for the Tribune. Inside, workers, many apparently grandparents, whose shifts start at 3am, are expected to inspect and file 650 discs per hour. More»

Aggressive expansion, subscribers' departure add to woes

(NEWSER) - Amazon’s plunging profits may have Jeff Bezos worried, but he can take solace in the misery of a competitor: Netflix stock dropped a whopping 35% to $77.37 yesterday following some bleak announcements the day before. On Monday, the company said its US subscribers had plummeted and that it expected several quarters of losses next year as its service expands into the UK and Ireland. The company, which last month expanded into 43 Latin American and Caribbean countries, has been in turmoil since it announced a price hike this summer. More»

It now has movies 28 days earlier—but must change pricing

(NEWSER) - A Blockbuster shareholder and former DVD kiosk owner—who tried to warn the company of the impending movie rental revolution back in 2005—says Blockbuster can be saved. Yes, it’s $1 billion in debt and looks doomed, but because Netflix and Redbox recently signed a deal delaying their access to many new films for 28 days, Blockbuster has a new window of opportunity it must exploit, Greg Meyer tells Slate . More»

Netflix takes leading role in company's imminent bankruptcy

(NEWSER) - With Blockbuster, once the dominant US video-rental chain, on the verge of bankruptcy, Daniel Indiviglio takes a look at three crucial factors in the demise of an outfit whose “fate was mostly sealed by its failure to embrace technology quickly enough.”

• Netflix: “Its business model merged technology, convenience and good customer service,” Indiviglio writes for the Atlantic—and it doesn’t have the overhead costs of ubiquitous stores, like Blockbuster.

Company offers 5% of flicks online, and stays relevant by picking up indie fare

(NEWSER) - They beat Blockbuster, but can Netflix outpace rivals in the race to show downloaded movies on TV? "It's like a three-act play, and we're in the opening minutes of the second act," said Netflix exec Steve Swasey. Act two is where startups like Vudu take on giants like Amazon to plug home TVs into the ‘Net—while Netflix tries to adapt before its DVDs hit the dumpster, the Washington Post reports. More»