Netflix approached Blockbuster in 2000 and suggested that they run Blockbuster’s online brand.  Blockbuster turned them down.

“Reed had the chutzpah to propose to them that we run their brand online and that they run [our] brand in the stores and they just about laughed us out of their office.”

Netflix had $553 million in revenue in the third quarter this year.  Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy in September.

Netflix won’t offer new releases from Warner Brothers on DVD or Blu-ray until 28 days after they go on sale. In return, Netflix will get access to more of WB’s catalog for streaming over the Internet.

I’m not sure why people are upset over this. The only movies I buy are movies that I know I will watch over and over and over again—so-called “Josh’s classics”—and Hollywood produces maybe one of them a year. If there’s a movie that I want to see that I didn’t see in the theater, why would having to wait 28 additional days entice me to go purchase it? It took me 3+ years to get around to seeing “The Last King of Scotland”, and I really wanted to see that one.