Blockbuster's online sales boom
It claims most customers are coming from Netflix
By Herb Greenberg, CBS MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 11:09 PM ET Oct. 14, 2004
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SAN DIEGO (CBS.MW) -- On its conference call Thursday, Netflix conceded that its higher-than-expected subscriber cancellation rate in the third quarter "seems to coincide" with the rollout of Blockbuster's competing online DVD rental service. Netflix went on, however, to downplay the significance of Blockbuster as a competitor.
Oh, yeah? In response to my query -- and through a spokesman -- Blockbuster (BBI: news, chart, profile) CEO John Antioco said that Blockbuster has added more subscribers in a half a quarter than Netflix "added in its first year and a half of existence. And we added more net paid subscriptions in the first half a quarter than Netflix added for the entire quarter."
"We are confident," he added, "that we will end the year after only four and half months with more subscribers than Netflix had after its first three and a half years."
Where are the new customers coming from? According to Blockbuster's research, the spokesman says, 70 percent came from Netflix (NFLX: news, chart, profile). Antioco added, again through the spokesman, that "we are determined and convinced we will be the leader in the online rental space, no matter what it takes."
The scalpers will be out selling tickets for this one.
http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/stor...ss&siteid=mktw
Netflix proves its critics right
Commentary: Doing a good job doesn't help investors
By Herb Greenberg, CBS MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 9:40 PM ET Oct. 14, 2004
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SAN DIEGO (CBS.MW) -- If Thursday's Netflix announcement that it will cut prices and curtail expansion proves nothing else, it's that critics were right: no matter how good a job the company has done building itself from scratch, it's in a lousy business.
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