Blockbuster in talks for mobile phone content delivery
Retailer would use Movielink service
By Ned Randolph -- Video Business, 11/28/2007
NOV. 28 | Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes said today that the movie rental giant was in talks with cell phone manufacturers to deliver digital copies of movies through its Movielink service.
Keyes
"It’s a rare privilege to sit home with my family and watch a DVD," he told a reporter at the Reuters Media Summit in New York yesterday. "I do do it, but it is a rare treat to have the time to do that. So, I was always behind on movies."
Keyes said that with the help of a Blockbuster technician, he was able to watch Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End downloaded from Movielink onto a memory card that he plugged into his Blackberry.
"Today, I’m finding myself increasingly watching movies by watching them when I can in bite-sized pieces on my Blackberry," he said.
"The challenge is how do I make this convenient for everybody. This is a wonderful way to increase consumption of content. I’m finding now that I’m watching significantly more content than I ever did before because I can," he added.
With its acquisition of Movielink over the summer, Blockbuster has access to the digital rights of about 6,000 titles, which Keyes hopes to leverage as the company transitions from a rental movie chain to a multi-faceted entertainment brand.
Keyes also said he hoped to start providing financial guidance in the first quarter of 2008, which is something Blockbuster has not done since its financial troubles began some time ago.
Keyes, a 21-year veteran of 7-Eleven stores who was hired in July to replace outgoing CEO John Antioco, had said the company would start providing guidance once the business was stabilized.
"We think we will be in a position by the first quarter to have enough of the transition in place to get good read on what 2008 will look like," he said. "Going forward, as we continue to evolve Blockbuster, we want to bring our shareholders with us."
Part of the transition is changing the way the company runs its 4,800 Blockbuster stores and franchises in the U.S.
"We were making inventory stocking decisions for 4,000 stores in Dallas. Now we're turning store operators loose, with merchandise displays and seasonal assortments," he said.
That includes pairing movie rentals next to DVDs for sale. He also said Blockbuster will soon introduce a new membership program tailored to different tiers of customers, from regular users to occasional renters.
The company also is branching out with Blockbuster Express-branded DVD rental kiosks.
