Blockbuster Ups In-Store Rental Options With ‘Blue Ticket’

11 Sep, 2012 By: Erik Gruenwedel

---

Seeking to increase foot traffic in its nationwide base of 900 stores, Blockbuster LLC has stepped up rental options to include unlimited movies and video games for one monthly price.

Dubbed “Blue Ticket,” the $14.99 monthly subscription plan allows users to rent one movie (DVD or Blu-ray Disc) either online (by-mail) or in-store (with no due date) and exchange it in store for another movie or video game. The program also gives consumers the option of renting a second movie and getting the a third title for free.

Blockbuster, which is owned by Dish Network, said the plan is different from Total Access, which limits subscribers to renting movies and games with in-store exchanges based on the one-out ($9.99), two-out ($14.99) or three-out ($19.99) options in their rental plans.

Dish also offers the Blockbuster @Home plan that gives satellite TV subscribers free (three-month) access to Blockbuster online movie rentals (one title out at a time), 3,000 streaming titles, and in-store exchanges. Blockbuster @Home costs $10 a month after the initial 90-day trial period. Two-title option is $14.99 and three titles out at one time costs $19.99 a month.

“Blockbuster’s Blue Ticket membership celebrates movie and game lovers by giving them the option of coming in every single day and discovering, with their families, the new worlds, new relationships and all the joy that movies and games can bring,” said Michael Kelly, president of Blockbuster, in a statement.

Englewood, Colo.-based Blockbuster reported a $13.3 million operating loss during its most recent fiscal period.

Bookmark it: