|
|
| Author |
Message |
admin
Site Admin
Joined: 09 May 2004
Posts: 137
|
 Posted: Mon Aug 23, 2004 6:31 pm Post subject: Screenselect and Videoisland merger to take on netflix |
 |
|
As you may not be aware netflix is a us dvd rental company with over 2 million customers and will be setting up in the uk in autumn.
Screen select and Videoisland are going merge together to help take on netflix.
This will mean hopefully a better service as now video island (18,500) and screen select (23,000 DVDs) one big dvd collection.
But this will probably lead to some of the smaller dvd rental companies closing down and there being less free rental trials to try out.
| Quote: | Online DVD rental firms merge
Mon 23 August, 2004 09:39
LONDON (Reuters) - Rival online DVD rental services Video Island and ScreenSelect will merge operations to fend off a new wave of well-capitalised entrants into the nascent British market.
The two privately held companies declined to provide financial details of the deal.
ScreenSelect and Video Island are considered Britain's biggest online DVD rental firms expecting to ship 300,000 DVD rentals in September. That figure is expected to treble in the next 12 months, the companies said.
The online DVD market has become one of the most hotly contested e-commerce segments with high street retailer Blockbuster entering the market recently and United States pioneer Netflix Inc. expected to launch here this fall.
Market research firm Screen Digest estimates the DVD rental market will be worth 376.1 million pounds by 2006, propelled by the explosive demand for DVD players.
Online DVD rental firms employ a somewhat unique business proposition in that they allow customers to order an unlimited amount of rentals for a monthly subscription fee.
Video Island and ScreenSelect have stitched together a network of online retail partners including Tesco and Dixons and Microsoft's MSN enabling customers to place orders through their Web sites.
In the past year, Video Island has raised nearly 8.3 million pounds in funding from a host of private equity partners that include Benchmark Capital, Index Ventures and Cazenove Group's private equity arm.
ScreenSelect has raised 2.0 million pounds from a host of angel investors that include managing director William Reeve and Amazon.co.uk founder Simon Murdoch.
|
reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=internetNews&storyID=6042181§ion=news |
|
| Back to top |
|
 |
|
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
