heirbrande

Blockbuster CEO: I Wanna Be Like Apple

I have a different opinion. I think this is a good pairing IF the management is good. Supposedly, Blockbuster has good management and CC doesn't. Maybe the CC side can benefit from that. But I think the reason this makes more sense than people are crediting to the deal is that video is Blockbuster's domain and music is Apple's by way of the iPod. If Blockbuster doesn't go after video streaming that is more accessible than via mail (remember their version TotalAccess is not that great) then someone will, which would make the Blockbuster we know today irrelevant. With TVs going all digital next year, there is bound to be a merger of the internet and television programming. Microsoft realized this years ago, trying to push their media center version of Windows. However, like many things MS has come up with, they are before their time and some of their ideas would be better suited on the set of Star Trek at the time of their introducition. For example VOIP was pitched by MS long before Vonage, Skype or Packet8 under NetMeeting. I tried it way back then and thought "this is pretty neat but kind of cumbersome to have to have speakers and mic's on both ends."
Apple is aware of the convergence, which is why they have tried their hands at Apple TV. Jobs is not really interested in becoming a TV producer -- yet.
Now, recall Google's early beginnings Nov 6 1999 on the way backmachine: web.archive.org/web/19... It's kind of cute because of the "Try our special searches:" phrase.At the time, it was hard to think Google would be what it is today.
Believe that if Google had the chance to get into the mainstream media whether by buying up broadcasting spectrum or through cable, they will do it. For Google though, it is not a financially sound plan because they would have trouble scaling and afterall, they are in the advertising business not TV broadcasting business. So better for Google to wait a little longer to jump in.

Blockbuster's CEO and Icahn as well as Jobs and probably those at Google and Microsoft realize the tremendous potential of connecting to people using something many use everyday (other than the cell phone), their television. My opinion is that many more people use a TV than an iPod. True, Apple has it's Apple store, but Circuit City could BE Blockbuster's Apple store. My prediction is that some other company will partner with Blockbuster to help deliver not only movies, but also other media via it's set-op box. Blockbuster has amazing name recognition so they will push other plays right out of the water. A coupany like Microsoft or Google can jump on board later. Circuit Buster, or whatever it will be called, can distribute the next new gadget in their stores then the content providers will line up to push their software products. I see a model kind of like Sirius satellite radio just the content is both audio and video instead of just audio.