Michael Kelly became the president of Blockbuster at a very turbulent time in the company’s history. BB had recently declared bankruptcy, put itself up for sale and been acquired by Dish Network. Kelly recently sat down with Home Media Magazine and shared his thoughts on the continued viability of physical media, Blockbuster’s strengths in comparison to its competitors and more. Highlights of the interview are after the jump.
Kelly on physical media’s current state
“We believe there’s still demand for physical media — especially with the Blu-ray platform, which provides advantages digital services can’t always match . . . Plus, there’s a large installed base with DVD players. And, most importantly, stores are convenient and family friendly .
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. . Kiosks can’t offer the same experience.”
Kelly on the advantages enjoyed by Blockbuster brick-and-mortar stores
“Stores provide convenience, a greater selection of movies and offer family entertainment. They also provide a great opportunity for consumers to browse for movies they like. In a world filled with a variety of entertainment options, the Blockbuster brand helps sort through the noise . . . We also have an advantage of offering movies 28 days before Redbox and Netflix on many movies.”
Kelly on Blockbuster’s efforts to compete with VOD
“First, we remind our customers of why they came to Blockbuster in the first place: greater choice, convenience and value. Second, it is clear our new ownership by Dish Network already is producing results and helping to remind the public that we’re continuing to build on Blockbuster’s iconic legacy .
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. . We’ve also begun aggressively advertising to remind consumers to come back to their local video store . . . After all, a neighborhood Blockbuster store attracts friends and family seeking the best in entertainment.”
(via Home Media Magazine)
Ah, blockbuster. I sure do miss those days when you charged me $5 for new releases, or made me wait weeks for top movies in my delivery queue, or forced your employees to try to sell me popcorn at 10x the normal retail price. Since all my local stores closed, now I’m stuck with the inconvenience of paying $.99 at Redbox (where there’s no rude employee) and a limitless supply of Netflix options. Please, blockbuster, won’t you come back and take all this extra money I have!
Yes, the $5 rental. When the other stores closed who charged $1 or $2, I asked Blockbuster about the $5 rental. They told me, “Yes, but you get it for 5 days”. Exactly — because I rent movies on Tuesday to watch on Thursday and return on Satuday — what a ripoff.
And Blockbuster’s non-new release section is small.
“We’ve also begun aggressively advertising to remind consumers to come back to their local video store”
That’s just it, there are VERY FEW local video stores left to go to. With the prices of gas nowadays the ones that are left are just too far to drive to. And as AJ said, I don’t miss the $5 movie rentals!
I loved Blockbuster. But stuff like this is useless to me when they closed ALL THE FREAKIN Blockbuster stores near me. Obviously they are not doing all that great if they do not have many stores open. I used visit Blockbuster weekly. The people at the store I went to where friendly, caring, and where a big help at finding something or making suggestions. I love Redbox. But if you are looking to find a movie but not sure which to get you have no one t ask for help with Redbox. It is Redbox’s only downfall.
But I do use Redbox and I still use The Blockbuster Online site because i prefer it over Netflix plus you can rent games with Blockbuster online at no extra charge. You can’t even rent games with Netflix. I am happy to see that Redbox has gmes now. They just never have any good ones in. Same with new releases.
…baffled as to why you think “were” would be spelled “where”.
Those darn consumers need to be reminded (re-educated) to love Blockbuster!!!
Howcan they even do that if they barely have any stores open. The whole idea is stupid on that fact alone. The closest Blockbuster to me is in the next state and there is no way in hell I am doing that.
it’s hard not to laugh at what he is trying to sell there. Stores provide convenience but what if you don’t live anywhere near a store? Hmmmm
Dude the Titanic has already hit the iceberg and is taking on water. You can’t put your finger in that hole and make it stop.
To the average consumer that 28 day waitnig period means absolutely nothing. I bet if you took a survey of the average DVD renter they have no idea that there is a 28 day wait on Netflix or Redbox or what it means. That’s never been a good selling point
“kiosks can’t offer the same experience…. thats why we have 10,000 of them ourselves…”
But they don’t have any kiosks at all. NCR has kiosks with the Blockbuster name on it, a fact which BB clearly regrets.
Blockbuster doesn’t regret it at all, they are making commission off each rental. The “NEW” blockbuster just wants to change things up a bit and probably wants more money than the “OLD” blockbuster was getting from them.
Who would regret getting money for doing nothing but licensing your name?
Are they getting a commission off of the deal or is it a straight fee? Also, if you’ve listened the name to someone else, that limits your own ability to use the name.
Yeah, I like my physical media. I like actually having a retail disc for games/movies, but I like the option of having a digital version of something as as it can offer what the physical counterpart offers.
Thankfully my Blockbuster is still open. And the prices are much better. Now ALL of the old movies at 99c a day. It just seems too late. They should not have closed so many stores because that is the 1 thing they had over their competitiors! The ability to trade mail in movies and get a new movie right away is another thing they have over competitors that they really screwed up!