Blockbuster Lands on Samsung HDTVs

Written by Ryan Lawler

Tuesday, July 14. 2009 at 11:35 AM EDT Post a comment

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Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) is expanding its digital reach, with a new distribution agreement that will make its online OnDemand feature available through broadband-connected high-definition TVs (HDTVs) and other consumer electronics (CE) devices from Samsung Corp.

Building on last year's launch of a digital set-top box that allows customers to rent movies in their living rooms with a remote control, the new agreement with Samsung will add the video rental company's digital storefront to a number of its CE devices.

Starting this fall, the Blockbuster OnDemand service will be available on broadband-connected LCD and Plasma HDTVs from Samsung, as well as some Blu-ray players and home theater systems.

While Samsung didn't say which Blu-ray players and home theater systems would include the Blockbuster store, all the CE manufacturer's newer models already support streaming services from Netflix Inc. and Pandora Media Inc.

This is the second deal that Blockbuster has announced to embed its online storefront in third-party devices. Earlier this year, the video rental firm struck a deal with TiVo to enable customers to rent movies through that company's digital video recorders (DVRs).

The move comes as Blockbuster is trying to play catchup in the digital arena, especially as the demand for sale and rental of physical media begins to decline.

But the company has a long way to go to reach the same distribution as rival Netflix, which has distribution deals for its "Watch Instantly" service with a number of CE manufacturers, including LG Electronics Inc. (London: LGLD; Korea: 6657.KS), Samsung, and Vizio. Netflix's online streaming service is also available on Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT)'s Xbox 360 gaming console, the Roku Inc. Internet set-top box, and TiVo Inc. (Nasdaq: TIVO) DVRs.