Blockbuster Inc. said Wednesday that it had reached a deal for exclusive United States rental rights to movies from the Weinstein Company, whose founders created the Miramax studio and sold it to Disney.
The deal will keep all movies from Bob and Harvey Weinstein's new production company out of the hands of Netflix, the online service that competes with Blockbuster, the nation's largest movie-rental chain.
The Weinsteins said Netflix had talked to them about a deal. But the brothers, whose Miramax credits include "Chicago" and "Shakespeare in Love," picked Blockbuster because of its combination of stores and online rentals.
who on earth convinced the weinsteins this was a good idea? it ensures that fewer people will see their movies. the only way this could possibly benefit the weinstein company is if blockbuster is paying the studio an outrageous amount of money, and even then, that would only be good for the bottom line, financially speaking. it would still be a big blow to the fundamental mission of movie studios, which is to make quality movies and then have them seen by the most people possible.
this is definitely a coup for blockbuster, as it will most likely increase blockbuster rentals on weinstein titles. but this is bad for consumers, and i can't for the life of me see how it's good for the weinstein company, either.¶
