Audio Video News

Memorial Day shoppers got a special treat at Blockbuster in the form of radically lower rental prices.

In the wake of its acquisition by the Dish Network, Blockbuster is reducing the price of "just released" rentals from $4.99 for three days to $2.99 for the first day and 99 cents per additional day. Other new titles will cost $1.99 first day, 99 cents per additional day.

To sweeten the deal, the $2.99 rental will come with a free first-day rental of a second title ordinarily priced at $1.99. So the five bucks that used to get you one movie for three days now gets you two movies for a day.

In addition, older titles will rent for just 99 cents per day.

Of course, to keep those 99-cent additional days from kicking in, you'll need to return discs the day after you check them out. Thus the new scheme rewards renters who return discs the next day. For those who keep discs three days, it is effectively neutral.

The plan takes aim squarely at Redbox, whose 99-cent kiosk rentals have cut into Blockbuster's brick-and-mortar business. Though Blockbuster has closed thousands of stores over the past few years, it still has 1700 left.

Now we wonder what Blockbuster will do to steal a march on Netflix and its burgeoning streaming service.

See The Hollywood Reporter.