It’s amazing how much the internet has changed the way we “rent” movies in such a short span of time. From the title you would think this post would be about the pirating days of downloading through P2P software, but how many quality movies did you really get after waiting for a 3 day download? And halfway through the crappy copy and un-synced audio a guy would stand up and walk through the theater. This post is more about the trend of how consumers now utilize the web to legally view their favorite blockbuster hits.
First came NETFLIX where you can browse through and choose DVDs to be delivered to your mailbox. It wasn’t long before Blockbuster’s TOTAL ACCESS made an attempt to rival NETFLIX by offering DVDs delivered at home or with the ability to exchange in store as well. I personally haven’t been inside a Blockbuster store in over a year now and last time I checked it appeared pretty bare. Then came iTunes with limited releases but very competitive pricing. And the Apple proprietorship angle…Â I’m not going to go there with Apple-onians I work with around here. Then came a few little known rivals in an attempt to pioneer the legal download era CINEMANOW and Movielink. And now the newest challenger WAL*MART who is threatening to slash prices against iTunes. Who’s next and at what price?