Audio Video News

Having just locked up a 28-day rental exclusive with Warner Bros., Blockbuster has repeated the feat with both Twentieth Century Fox and Sony Pictures.

This means titles from all three studios will be available for rental from Blockbuster on the same date they are available for purchase and VOD, 28 days sooner than competing video rental outfits. With the company's annual report confessing a financially rocky road ahead, and more store closures due this year, this kind of news is what Blockbuster needs to survive. See eHome Upgrade including press release.

Meanwhile, Netflix has agreed to delay new rentals by 28 days for both Fox (see above) and Universal, in addition to Warner. But in return its subscribers will get streaming rights to "premium domestic films" such as Gosford Park and Billy Elliott as well as catalogue titles. See Gizmodo with links to separate press releases for each of the two studios.