Blockbuster Goes Mobile
by Keith Cowing, November 29, 2007
According to Reuters, Blockbuster is trying to form partnerships with all the major handset manufacturers to develop better ways of offering videos on cell phones. James Keyes, Blockbuster’s CEO, would pretty much try anything at this point to save the ailing brick and mortar stores that used to make up the heart of Blockbuster’s business. Everybody knows that few people are walking to the store to rent videos when they can get on-demand movies, download video from the Internet, or just watch free entertainment on YouTube. So clearly if Blockbuster wants to survive, it needs to move into some new outlets, but I think Keyes’ attempts are a little misplaced and will just be too little too late, here’s why.Content. Content is king when it comes to video. You can’t sell anything if you can’t provide good material, and the definition of “good content” is very dependent on how you are viewing it. I could probably watch Jay Leno or Two and a Half Men on my iPod and enjoy it almost as much as I would on TV. Lots of dialogue, not much action, funny one-liners. I get most of the enjoyment through the audio and the fact that I can see people walking around on the 3” screen adds a nice touch. But Blockbuster is all about new releases that offer action, suspense and mysteries. If I want to watch The Bourne Identity or Gladiator, my cell phone just isn’t going to cut it. Let’s be real. Even romantic comedies would be bad, because those sensual moments just can’t be caught on 3” of LCD wonder. Mobile video has a place, but the content that is relevant to mobile video is more in-tune with the likes of comedies, TV shows, and video blogs, well outside Blockbuster’s realm. What can Blockbuster offer that isn’t already available through iTunes or YouTube?
Technology. If you’re just talking about technology, sure…mobile video is a great way to go. It’s a young market and has a good deal of growth ahead of it. But if you’re looking for a way to develop technologies, Blockbuster is not the company to partner with. Partner with Google. Partner with Yahoo. Even partner with Microsoft or a host of startup companies, but if Blockbuster doesn’t have any amazing connections that directly benefit the handset makers, I don’t see why Motorola would waste its time working with Blockbuster when they know that nobody wants to spend two hours watching American Gangster on their Razor.
[Image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net]
Tags: Blockbuster, Video, Mobile,