Blockbuster On Demand now on TiVo DVRs

DIGITAL: Download service will widen selection of titles in coming weeks

By Danny King -- Video Business, 10/13/2009

OCT. 13 | DIGITAL: TiVo said today that owners of its digital video recorders can start downloading digital titles off of Blockbuster's Web site, marking the debut of a service the two companies announced earlier this year.

TiVo customers can order most Blockbuster titles for between $3 and $4, with newer releases such as Ghosts of Girlfriends Past and Away We Go already available for downloading, TiVo said in a statement today. Blockbuster, which also will start selling TiVo DVRs at "thousands" of stores, will widen its digital selection for TiVo, including high-definition titles, over the next few weeks.

"We're thrilled to give consumers another way to enjoy the movies they want most now with the convenience of their TiVo remote control in the comfort of their living room," Bruce Anderson, senior VP and general manager of Blockbuster On Demand, said in the statement.

Blockbuster and TiVo in March agreed to make Blockbuster On Demand titles downloadable through TiVo's Series2, Series3, HD and HD XL DVRs by the second half of this year. Blockbuster late last year started selling a set-top box that plays digital downloads from Blockbuster.com directly on consumers' TV sets, after integrating what had been known as its Movielink digital download service into Blockbuster's Web site in July. The largest U.S. movie-rental company is looking to boost revenue by widening the array of consumer electronics devices that can play its digital titles.

As of this morning, Blockbuster, which is listed above Amazon Video On Demand, Netflix, YouTube, Walt Disney Studios and other Web video providers in TiVo's Video On Demand section, was offering a limited selection of new release films from Warner Bros., Lionsgate, Sony Pictures and independent suppliers. The site is offering a broad range of notable catalog films from additional studios and the ability to search or browse the Blockbuster digital library.

Competitor Amazon has a much broader selection of new release movies, most available in high-def, and TV programs through TiVo. Both Blockbuster and Amazon require users to download the film before they can begin watching, unlike Netflix's service, which allows users to stream films immediately through their TiVo.

To access Blockbuster through the TiVo, users must sign up on Blockbuster's site.

TiVo last October reached an agreement with Netflix, the largest U.S. movie-rental service via mail, to allow the DVRs to video-streaming Netflix's digital titles directly to TVs.