warner bros. home entertainment

Best Buy: Delays on DVD rentals boost sales

The agreement by Netflix and other top video-rental services to wait 28 days before renting newly released DVDs appears to be boosting disc sales--as much as 30 percent in some cases, say two national retailers.

Representatives from retail chains Best Buy and Hastings Entertainment told CNET during the past week that disc sales and even rentals are up for movies that aren't available at Netflix or Redbox during what has come to be known as the "sales-only window."

"On sales of specific titles, we've seen our market share go up over time and degradation of … Read more

Redbox, like Netflix, agrees to sales-only window

In a multiyear distribution agreement sure to spark controversy among users of Redbox Automated Retail machines, the video rental kiosk operator has agreed to refrain from renting newly released Warner Bros. DVDs for a period of 28 days.

The deal is similar to one Netflix made with Warner Bros. last month, prompting accusations that the video rental site was selling out to the studio. But in return for supporting a sales-only window following the immediate release of DVDs, a practice Warner Bros. hopes will help prompt movie fans to buy rather than rent, Netflix received something in return it badly … Read more

Netflix, Warner Bros. rejigger movie renting

Netflix subscribers who stream films over the Web will soon be getting access to a greater number of movies from Warner Bros.

In a groundbreaking deal for online movie rentals, Netflix and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment announced Wednesday that they have expanded their licensing arrangement for streaming movies, and Netflix now has licensing rights to more of the studio's catalog content. In exchange, Netflix agreed to do something it has never done before. The movie-by-mail service won't offer new releases from the studio on DVD or Blu-ray discs until 28 days after they go on sale.

Before you … Read more