Walt Disney is increasing the wholesale prices it charges for DVDs to movies-by-mail leader Netflix and movie-rental kiosk operator Redbox. Disney is looking to benefit further from being the only major studio to sell DVDs to the companies for rental the day they go on sale to the public.
Bankrupt video-rental company Blockbuster may put itself up for sale as early as next week, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The company had previously planned to reorganize, but creditors couldn't agree on a plan to restructure its debt.
Netflix, whose DVD-by-mail service hastened the demise of several video rental chains, may soon find itself under siege from Amazon. The world's largest online retailer appears to be on the verge of launching its own unlimited movie and TV-show streaming service.
The all-important January employment reports come out this week. Also worth watching for are a host of earnings releases, led by economic bellwhether UPS. The package deliverer is expected to post strong results.
Coinstar, the parent of Redbox self-service DVD-rental machines, said second-quarter profit fell less than analysts expected and that forecast 2011 sales would exceed analysts' estimates.
It's easy to blame Blockbuster's collapse, which culminated Thursday in a voluntary Chapter 11 filing, on the rise of streaming Internet video and kiosk rental options. But Netflix faced the same threats and it's thriving. So what did Netflix do smarter than its bankrupt rival?
If you're like tens of millions of other Americans, you've got a collection of loose change somewhere in your house -- or lots of coins scattered in various locations. And chances are, at some point, you're going to want to turn that change into more portable and usable dollar bills. And it's likely that when you add it all up, it's going to amount to more than a few bucks.
