The Dish Network acquisition of Blockbuster is complete and in the can—or is it? Not if small studio Lionsgate gets its way. Lionsgate has filed a motion with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York requesting that the judge “reconsider” the Dish/Blockbuster deal in light of unfulfilled revenue sharing agreements.
Lionsgate’s complaint stems from a notification it received from Dish on April 22 stating that the latter will not be honoring outstanding revenue sharing agreements moving forward. Lionsgate was not included on the list of studios referenced in the April 26 amended sale approval to whom Dish would be paying back a large percentage of outstanding balances.
From Lionsgate’s motion, referring to itself as the aggrieved party:
“[Its] objection appears to have been overlooked by both [Blockbuster] and this court and, therefore, was never adjudicated . . . [Lionsgate], therefore, is entitled to reconsideration of, and a determination of its rights . . . with respect to the sale of assets to Dish.”
Will Lionsgate see their money? More importantly, is their complaint valid enough to derail, at least temporarily, the Dish/Blockbuster deal?
5/3/11 UPDATE
Lionsgate today withdrew its motion without giving an explanation.
(via Home Media Magazine)
They’ll get some sort of settlement, but it won’t derail the deal.
Block Buster wouldn’t be having trouble if they hadn’t raised the price of movies to $4.99. I went to Block Buster all the time and rented movies for $2.99 till they jumped up the price. When they done that I went to other places to rent movies or I didn’t rent at all.
With DISH Network buying Blockbuster they are really turning around. It looks like Blockbuster is restructuring their prices and trying to make them as low as the other companies. I can tell you working for DISH Network they are offering Blockbuster free for 3 months which is better than Netflix introductory offer. They are coming out with all sorts of deals that seem to be helping them out. They have a summer pass for kids for $4.99 a month which is really cool. I hope DISH buying Blockbuster helps them in the long run. Check out this link for the 3 month promotion through DISH. http://bit.ly/iH7nwg