Netflix joins Redbox to defy Disney’s new DVD policy
Netflix is joining Redbox in defying Walt Disney Studios’ attempt to stop DVD rentals for four weeks after the discs go on sale.
Disney recently decided not to provide its discs to the nation’s largest rental companies until 28 days after they hit store shelves, adopting a policy similar to those of 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures andWarner Bros. (Warner’s so-called “window” is even longer: 56 days).
The studios believe the delay can help boost home entertainment revenue by steering consumers toward more profitable DVD purchases and video-on-demand rentals.
Fox, Universal and Warner reached agreements with Netflix in which the rental company doesn’t offer the movies to its customers until after the window. In exchange, the studios provide a healthy supply of DVDs at the end of the period at a discounted rate.
-- Ben Fritz, Los Angeles Times