Poll: Which Will Be The Stronger Brand, Netflix Or Blockbuster?

Friday, September 23rd, 2011

Erick Schonfeld is a technology journalist and the former Editor in Chief of TechCrunch. At TechCrunch, he oversaw the editorial content of the site, helped to program the Disrupt conferences and CrunchUps, produced TCTV shows, and wrote daily for the blog. He joined TechCrunch as Co-Editor in 2007, and helped take it from a popular blog to a thriving... → Learn More

Blockbuster sign
Blockbuster sign

Blockbuster is back. Today it is expected to launch a new streaming video service to take on Netflix. Blockbuster was bought out of bankruptcy by Dish Network for $230 million last April and everybody, including Netflix, has been waiting for it to fully enter the digital age with an all-you-can-eat streaming video service.

We will learn later today exactly how Blockbuster plans to compete. The fight should be interesting. Both Blockbuster and Netflix have well-established brands. However, Blockbuster’s brand is more associated these days with shuttered and empty stores. Can a relaunch restore the shine to its tarnished brand?

Meanwhile, Netflix is having its own brand challenges. Its recent price hike for some customers, followed by its announcement that it will split off its DVD-only business into the poorly-named Qwikster is alienating many of its customers. Still, it has the advantage here with more than 20 million subscribers paying for streaming (half of which are streaming-only subscribers). Relatively speaking, in the U.S. we are still at the very early stages of adoption for streaming full-length TV shows and movies. Which brand is better positioned? Take the poll below.


Company: Netflix
Website: netflix.com
Launch Date: 1997
IPO: NASDAQ:NFLX

With more than 23.3 million members in the United States and Canada, Netflix, Inc. is the world’s leading Internet subscription service for enjoying movies and TV shows. For $7.99 a month, Netflix members in the U.S. can instantly watch unlimited movies and TV episodes streaming right to their TVs and computers and can receive unlimited DVDs delivered quickly to their homes. In Canada, streaming unlimited movies and TV shows from Netflix is available for $7.99 a month. There are...

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