By : Erik Gruenwedel | Posted: 09 Dec 2009
egruenwedel@questex.com

In the rapidly evolving dissemination of movies beyond the theater, Blockbuster Inc. — the venerable brand some believe to be as relevant as the pager — is about to reinvent itself as a one-stop shop for home entertainment.

Next month at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the Dallas-based No. 1 DVD rental company will showcase a seamless multiplatform distribution system that allows a consumer to rent or buy movies in a store, by-mail, on the Internet or a kiosk — each option navigated by their mobile phone.

“We are going to show how one consistent user experience across all of those channels can get you all the different pieces of entertainment you want,” said Kevin Lewis, SVP of digital entertainment.

Speaking from Blockbuster’s On Demand headquarters in Los Angeles, Lewis said the rentailer would showcase by appointment behind the scenes operations that link myriad company-owned and franchise stores with Blockbuster Express kiosks and online digital initiatives.

Blockbuster, which has deals with Samsung, TiVo and Motorola, will unveil additional CE partnerships, including high-definition televisions that feature internal Blockbuster widgets easing the ability to rent or buy movies electronically.

Lewis said that most of the current dialog within home entertainment revolves around specific distribution channels, including by-mail, streaming, downloads and DVD and Blu-ray Disc.

“This will be the first that the thread that connects all of these pieces is so evident,” Lewis said, reiterating that Blockbuster aims to move pass the typical CES hype and actually showcase CE products ready to implement the multiplatform distribution.

For example, consumers who download an electronic Blockbuster rental to their TV can pause the movie and continuing watching it later on any connected device, including a laptop on an airplane.

New products at CES will include embedded TVs, Blu-ray players and mobile phones. A mobile app will give users physical inventory of new releases in real time at local Blockbuster stores based the user’s actual location.

Mobility is key to the multichannel consumer, according to Lewis, who believes Blockbuster’s global base of 60 million regular customers is big enough to shake up the industry.

“Our message at CES is that it is not so much about the device, rather we are making the ability to interact with Blockbuster in a multichannel way part of the mobile experience,” he said.

The executive agreed with analysts’ contentions that the Blockbuster brand is dinosaur from the ’80s, albeit differing on the type of pre-historic metaphor.

“Instead of a Fred Flintstones, rocks on the head dinosaur, we are the T-Rex from Jurassic Park that everyone understands is a really big deal that you don’t want to mess with,” Lewis said. “We are the only company that straddles all distribution channels. And it is our job to unite all of those channels.”

Regardless, the choice of metaphor might be immaterial. Web site 24/7 WallSt.com listed Blockbuster, whose stock is in jeopardy of being de-listed by the New York Stock Exchange, among 10 brands it predicts will become extinct in 2010.

---