James Delahunty
4 Jan 2007 6:31
Movie rental giant Blockbuster has announced that it has exceeded its target for online rental subscribers in 2006, passing over the 2 million mark. The announcement sent its shares up 6.6%. The company managed to lure a total of 500,000 subscribers since the end of the third quarter.
"These numbers are pretty surprising. Blockbuster not only made the numbers they guided to, but exceeded them and did it in a pretty dramatic fashion," Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter said. Blockbuster Chief Executive John Antioco touted the "Total Access" plan as being a main part of the success.
The Total Access plan allows customers to return DVD rentals by mail or exchange them in stores for free rentals. Blockbuster is in tough competition with Netflix, which said its subscribers would reach 6 million by year's end.
Source:
LA Times