DVD

Netflix Bounces Back With a Q4 Beat, but Says Amazon Is Coming

Peter Kafka in Media on January 25 at 1:24 pm PT

Reed Hastings’s numbers are much better than Wall Street expected. But he warns that he won’t turn a profit in 2012.

News Byte

“Abduction” Is Facebook’s First “Day-and-Date” Movie Rental

Peter Kafka in Media on January 17 at 1:25 pm PT

Lionsgate is letting Facebook users stream rentals of “Abduction” via the site today, at the same time the Taylor Lautner movie is coming out on discs and conventional digital outlets. Last year Warner Bros. became the first studio to offer rentals via Facebook, but until now the movies have all been older catalog releases. A 48-hour rental via Facebook costs $3.99; Milyoni, a start-up that specializes in Facebook commerce, is handling the transaction.

There Better Be Some Cool Stuff at CES, Because CE Holiday Sales Data Bytes!

Kara Swisher in Commerce on January 8 at 11:26 am PT

Camcorders and MP3 players go splat!

Hollywood Showdown: Blockbuster, Redbox Balk at Warner’s New Window

Peter Kafka in Media on January 6 at 5:08 pm PT

Warner Bros. wants to keep its DVDs out of the hands of renters for an extra month. Blockbuster and Redbox don’t want to play along.

Warner Brothers Will Make Netflix, Redbox, Blockbuster Wait Longer for New Movies

Peter Kafka in Media on January 5 at 2:21 pm PT

Want to watch a new movie just out on DVD from Warner Brothers? You’re going to have to buy it, or wait even longer to get it from Netflix or other disc renters.

Netflix Reminds Us That It’s a Streaming Video Company, Again

Peter Kafka in Media on January 4 at 7:30 am PT

Its customers watched more than two billion hours of digital content, the company says. But we’ll have to wait a month to learn what that means.

Netflix Really, Really Doesn’t Want Your DVD Money

Peter Kafka in News on December 22, 2011 at 12:25 pm PT

“Old fogey discs” are a billion-dollar business for Reed Hastings and company. But if you want to see how badly Netflix wants out, go ahead and try to give someone a DVD gift subscription today.

Why Netflix Customers Who Haven’t Bailed Probably Won’t

Peter Kafka in Media on December 22, 2011 at 3:00 am PT

Investors are furious with Reed Hastings, and a notable number of his customers left earlier this year. But the ones who stuck around — and there are 20 million-plus — are still pretty happy.

Hot for “Bad Teacher”: Sony Spikes Sales With Early Offers on iTunes, Amazon

Peter Kafka in Media on November 30, 2011 at 4:00 am PT

You want to rent, but Hollywood wants you to buy. And a Sony experiment sounds promising for the studios.

Reed Hastings Lays Out the Netflix Comeback Plan

Peter Kafka in Media on October 25, 2011 at 3:00 am PT

The idea is simple: Turn Netflix into a “premium television network,” like HBO. Convincing investors and customers that he can do it will be hard work.