Best Buy preparing for the death of DVDs
Best Buy sells a lot of DVDs, but it can see the writing is on the wall.
Best Buy is one of the largest brick and mortar retailers for DVDs, but as more and more people move to streaming solutions, what are they to do to keep from losing this revenue stream? The simplest solution is for the company to enter the streaming video business for itself, and it is doing so by partnering up with Sonic Solutions’ Roxio CinemaNow service.
According to The New York Times, the new partnership with Best Buy will see the CinemaNow software embedded into Internet connected devices sold through the retailer. This is in addition to existing agreements the company has to embed Netflix software in its Insignia-branded Blu-ray disc players, as well as an agreement with Blockbuster. In a quote to CNET News, yan Pirozzi, director of digital video for Best Buy, said, “We want to make sure it’s difficult to walk out of a Best Buy store without a device that has our movie technology embedded on it.”
There are conflicting reports of when the unnamed-for-now service will be launching. Some reports say in the fourth quarter of this year, meaning before Dec. 31 while other sources say early in 2010. If I was a betting man I would go with ‘as soon as humanly possible’ as Best Buy would want to feature this new service in its holiday shopping season.
With Best Buy teamed up with so many services now, some have wondered if the retailer won’t be cannibalizing its own sales. While a good question, the streaming services like Blockbuster’s OnDemand and Netflix’s Watch Instantly tend to offer up older catalog titles, CinemaNow allow you to rent or buy recent releases. Combining CinemaNow with either of the other services on one device would make the most sense, and would also make for one gigantic catalog of films to watch.
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