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24 Sep 2011 12:33

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Tech: Dish Network’s Netflix killer has catch that limits its killing abilities

  • yeah … Dish Network’s new Netflix competitor — based around the recently-acquired Blockbuster brand — offers 100,000 DVDs by mail and 4,000 streaming films for $10 a month. Considering the current status of Netflix and Qwikster, the time is now.
  • … but You have to be a Dish Network subscriber to take advantage of this deal, which seems like a major mess-up on the part of Dish. (They are offering a deal to get it for free for a year, for new subscribers.) Timing is on your side, guys! Do something smart! source

02 Sep 2011 19:51

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Biz, Tech: Netflix’s crappy day: As its stock falls, a new competitor shows itself

06 Apr 2011 11:28

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Biz: Dish Network’s Blockbuster buyout: Good or bad?

  • $320 million the amount Dish Network plans to pay for the bankrupt Blockbuster
  • $228 million the amount the company plans to pay in cash for the video retailer source
  • » A competitive deal? Dish Network, known mostly for its satellite dishes and for being the satellite company that isn’t DirecTV, will earn a competitive advantage by branching out with Blockbuster, which has a large infrastructure, if not money to pay for said infrastructure. For example, Dish Network could also offer Blockbuster’s Netflix-like DVD service on top of their already-robust satellite service. It’s synergy, folks! Another way to look at this: Blockbuster shares were delisted after trading for less than $1 for nearly a year. Netflix shares are trading around $250.

15 Aug 2010 22:40

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Culture: “Expendables” success: When did Stallone last have a #1 hit?

  • $35 million, “The Expendables'” first weekend take source
  • 2003 the last time Stallone topped the box office, that time with (we kid you not) “Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over
  • 2001 the last Stallone starring role to top the box office, that time with the long-forgotten “Driven
  • » Other notes: First of all, “The Expendables” is the biggest opening in Sylvester Stallone’s long career, not counting for inflation; “Spy Kids 3-D” is easily the second-biggest. And despite his many movies and A-list status, only five of them have made more than $100 million, with “Rambo: First Blood Part II” being his biggest moneymaker. Oh yeah, remember “Cop Land,” that fat cop movie he did? That opened at No. 1, too.

24 Mar 2010 23:57

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Biz: A blockbuster level of debt for a Blockbuster video-rental firm

  • $1 billion in debt keeping it from
    taking on Netflix source

03 May 2009 20:10

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Culture: Box office: “Wolverine” was pretty good, but it was no “Iron Man”

  • $87 million the box-office take for the critic-proof “Wolverine” – that’s better than expected source

04 Mar 2009 10:08

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Biz: Video retailer Blockbuster should rent out its massive debt

  • $900 million in accounts payable to studios, vendors and other suppliers source