SAN FRANCISCO – The Blockbuster video store chain and new owner Dish Network are ganging up on Netflix with a less expensive way to watch Internet video and rent DVDs through the mail in the United States.
Blockbuster and Dish are selling their package for US$10 per month, the same price that Netflix offered until it made a change in its service that drove up its rates by as much as 60 per cent.
There’s a major catch to Blockbuster’s new Movie Pass: It’s only available if you also subscribe to Dish Network’s pay-TV service.
The new offering comes at a particularly vulnerable time for Netflix, the largest U.S. video subscription service.
Its 24 million U.S. customers are incensed about the higher prices and a recent decision to spin off DVD rentals into a new website called “Qwikster.”
The new Blockbuster service will not be available in Canada for the forseeable future as the Dish Network does not operate north of the border.
Blockbuster Video has been shuttering its retail stores in Canada over the past few months after it was unable to find a buyer willing to invest in the business.
The company will close the final 253 locations by the end of the month.
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