Dish Network bought Blockbuster earlier this year. At the time, Blockbuster's most valuable asset, from Dish Network's point of view, may have been Movielink, the streaming video service Blockbuster purchased from a group of movie studios in 2007.
Despite years of trying to update its brick and mortar business with the addition of online rentals and kiosks, Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy a year ago.
At today's media event, called "A Stream Come True," it's likely they will be introducing a subscription streaming service similar Netflix's Watch Instantly.
Given their ownership by Dish Network, it's likely to only be available for subscribers to the satellite service initially, but may be offered to the general public down the road.
Dish Network announced their plans to launch a streaming service after inking a deal for content from premium cable provider Starz. At the beginning of this month Starz decided not to renew a similar agreement with Netflix.
If the Netflix situation is any indication Blockbuster will be required to offer a tiered service, treating Starz content almost like a premium pay TV channel. Initially that could mean you must have Starz in your Dish Network subscription to view their content.
Written by: Rich Fiscus @ 23 Sep 2011 11:14
