Blockbuster plans broadband movies-on-demand
In its third-quarter financial results conference call, movie retailer Blockbuster confirmed it plans to offer a pay-per-view broadband Internet service in 2001.
Blockbuster teamed up with Enron Broadband Services in July. The companies intend to offer movies-on-demand across Enron's global broadband network, using digital rights management software from InterTrust Technologies.
John Antioco, chairman and chief executive officer of Blockbuster, said the company sees a bright future in its partnership with Enron and in DirecTV, the US digital satellite network. "We are committed to growing our business by offering customers worldwide the latest in home entertainment, and we are very excited about the potential of these two new growth opportunities which complement our core business," he said in a conference call Tuesday.
Antioco expects that the delivery of film by broadband will become an important part of Blockbuster's business in the future. "Looking ahead, we are confident that the strength of our core business combined with these new ventures will position us to deliver long-term, sustainable growth," he added.
Blockbuster is expected to announce deals with content providers soon. Back in January it teamed up with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) to try and find ways of supplying films over the Internet.
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