I feel old
It's going to be odd telling youngsters one day about how we did things before the internet, and the story of blockbuster is one we will all be telling. Not only is it a story of fast moving technology but a cautionary tale of what happens when you ignore it.
- In 1997 Reed Hastings walks into a Blockbuster and gets slapped with a $40 late fee for being six weeks late on returning Apollo 13.
- In 1998 he starts Netflix.
- In 2000 Netflix proposed a sale to Blockbuster and was “nearly laughed out of the office.” That same year, Blockbuster had made 16% of its revenue, $800 million dollars, from late fees. If you’re making $800 million a year off late fees, would you invest in a company that let’s you keep movies for as long as you want for free?
- In 2004 Blockbuster is at its peak. It has over 6 Billion in revenue, 9,000 stores and 60,000 employees. They decide to start an online subscription service. It’s too late, but they don’t even know it.
- In 2007 Netflix announces their one billionth DVD delivery and the fact that they are switching to VOD.
- By 2010 Netflix is valued at over a billion dollars. They’ve gone from the largest client of the USPS first class mail service to the most trafficked site at night in the US. Meanwhile, Blockbuster files chapter 11 bankruptcy with over a billion in debt.
In twelve years Netflix killed blockbuster and only six years to knock it from its strongest point
